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EVERY M:A.isr 



HIS OWN 



HOUSE PAINTER & PAPER HANGER. 



CONTAINING PLAIN PEACTICAL DIRECTIONS 



HOUSE PAINTING AND PAPER HANGING. 



ALSO, A-G1EAT MANY VALUABLE RECU'KS FOU 

MAKING CHEAP PAINTS, AND SUBSTITUTES FOE OILS AND WHITE LEAD 



etc., &('., &<• 



-ry 3- ^^''^g-z-e^. 



ST. LOUIS: 

J. J. DALY, STATIONER AND PRINTER, S. E. COR. FIFTH AND PINK S'l S , 

18G6. 



o/V 










Kntercd aocorrling to Act of Congress, in the year ISCiJ, 

H Y T H O M A S SMITH. 

Ill the Clork's Offiot' of tbe I'liiU-il Siates District Comt for tlic Kastern District 
of Missouri. 



f-^O^S-y 



TO THE PUBJLiIO. 



Wlien we take into consideration the length of time devoted, and the 
amount of money expended by the author in trying experiments and bring- 
ing to their present state of perfection the various recipes contained in 
this Book, the price charge 1 for the work (one dollar) appears to be very 
small ; but the desire of bringing it within the reach of every one, and 
obtaining for the work an extensive circulatijii, thereby benefiting both 
himself and the community at large, has induced the author to otfer it at 
the above price. 



A COLOEED CHART, 

SHOWING HOW TO MIX SOME OF THE BEST SHADES FOR HOUSE PAINTING. 




DRAB. 

Mix Wliite Lead and J{;i\v Unilan-. 



STRAW COLOR. 

White Lead and Clivome Yellow. 



SALMON COLOR. 

NVliite L.ad and Viii.tian Rt 



BUFF. 

i^Iix White Lead, Yellow Oelire and 
Raw Umber. 




LEAD COLOR. 

White Lead and Lamp Black. 




BROWN. 

Venetian Red and Lamplda<k. 



EVERY IvlA.Isr 



HIS OWN 



HOUSE PAMTER & PAPER HANGER. 



Thousauds of persons in the country, and alr^o in our 
towns, have long felt the want of a work such as is now 
jyroseuted to the public by the author, who has had upAvards 
of twenty years practical experience in the painting busi- 
ness. Such plain instructions as are here given, will enable 
.nny one to mix paints as well as an experienced painter, and 
tlie use of a brush can be acquired by a little practice, so that 
a person can turn off' a pretty good job who has never 
painted before. 

The object of this work is to enable the Farmer to paint 
his w\ngons and his plows, his mowers, his cultivators, his 
house, or anything he ma_y wish to paint, and also to enable 
the Mechanic and the Merchant to paint their own houses, or 
chairs, or furniture of any kind, at their leisure hours, and 
the price of the book will be saved on the first wagon or 
piece of furniture painted by them ; and I contend that this 
book, circulated amongst our agricultural p(r3ulation, and in 
villages and towns, amongst the mechanics and merchants, 
&c., will be the means of saving thousands of dollars to the 
country b}^ the increased protection from the weather, that 
their houses and agricultural implements will receive by a 
little paint applied at the right time. The reason Avh}^ a 
great many farmers and persons living away from towns do 
not pay any attention to the painting of their wagons, 
houses, &c., is, that it is frequently almost impossible for 



4 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

them to get any pevson sufficiently acquainted with painting 
to do it. It is not because they do not know the importance 
of keeping all wood work exposed to the Aveather well 
painted, for they know that by experience, and they would 
gladly spend a little time and have all painted up, if thev 
only knew how to do it themselves. 

Of course the author of this book does not pretend to say 
that a person following these directions, and who has never 
had any experience in the business, can do fine wOrk or turn 
olf a first-class job. But he does say that any one can do a 
good plain job and improve by practice; and, also, that any 
one having this book to guide them, can do work that they 
would have to pay a regular painter a good price for, or else 
leave undone. 

There are a great manA^ receipts in this book that are 
unknown to many of our practical painters, and Avhich they 
will find very much to their advantage to possess. 



PL ATX DIRECTIONS FOR HOUSE PAINTING. 

The first thing that 30U will have to ascertain in commenc- 
ing a job of house painting, will be the quantity of paint 
required to do the job, and this you can come pretty near find- 
ing out by a little calculation, as to the amount of surface 
required to be covered by the paint. You can ascertain the 
dimensions of the house and then find the number of square 
yards of surface. For instance, your house may be 20 by 30 
feet and 10 feet studding; then, by multiplying 10 by 20 — 200, 
which, multiplied by 2, gives the surface of the two ends of 
your house, which will be 400 feet, not including the gables. 
Then to find out the amount of surface on the sides, you can 
multiply 10 by 30, which gives 300, which, multiplied by 2, 
gives the two sides of your house — 600 feet. Now, take 
the two products, 600 feet and 400 feet, and add them 
together and it makes 1,000 feet, which sum divided by 9, as 
there are 9 square feet, is one square 3-ard. It shows that 



KVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUlSE PAINTJiR. 

there' are about 111 square yai-da of surface, which will be 
quite near enough for your purpose. Xow, the next thing 
to be taken into eonsideratioQ is, what kind of sluing it is ; 
if it is very much weather-beaten, having been a long time 
without paifst, it will require much more paint than if it is 
new siding. The amount generally required for 100 square 
yards on new siding, (two. coats,) would be about 50 pounds 
white lead, and about 2.^ to 3 gallons of linseed oil. In pur- 
chasing Avhite lead, it is always more economical to buy the 
best pure lead, as it has more body and covers the work 
so much better than the low priced leads, as the latter are 
so much adulterated Mnth foreign substances. In buying 
your oil, ascertain if it is boiled oil or raw. If you can get 
the boiled oil, you had better do so; it will cost a little 
more, but it will save you bujdng di'iers to go into the raw 
oil. If you cannot get the boiled oil, then you will have to 
purchase some driers, the nature, and use, and propoi;tions 
to be used, I will now proceed to descri!)e in the next article. 

TO MAKE PAINTS DllY. 

It must l>e understood that paint will dry much faster in 
warm weather than in cold, therefore, it requires more dryers 
in cold than in warm weather, and the proportions must be 
varied accordingly. 

There are a great many ditferent articles used as driers, 
such as patent driers, which are put up in cans ready ground ; 
also litharge, Avhich is an oxide of lead, and also Japan dri- 
ers. I should recommend the last article, if it can be pro- 
cured, as it is a good drier and very convenient to use ; but if 
you cannot get it couvenientl}'', then you can use either of 
the other articles, viz : patent driers or litharge. 

The proportions of driers to be used will be, in cold 
weather, about a quart of Japan driers to a gallon of oil, 
and it ma}' be poured into the oil and mixed with it before 
mixing your paint. If you use litharge it will take about 
a pound or a pound and a-half to a gallon of oil, and if you 
use patent driers it will take about the same as litharge. If 



6 EVERY iMAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

jou should wish to boll your oil, I will give you dii-ections 
how to do so in aiiother part of this work. 

Painters use turpentine or benzine in mixing their paints, 
but this is not necessary for outside work, only that it comes 
so much cheaper than oil (that is, benzine does) and it makes 
paint work easier, but is an injury rather than a benefit to 
outside work, that ip, to use much of it ; a small quantity, say 
about a pint to a gallon of oil, would do no harm. 

KLNl) OF BRUSHES TO BE USED. 

Two brushes will be sufficient, by being careful with them, 
to paint a small house, say 20 by 30. One brush should be 
about a four 0, as they are numbered from one C3'pher up to 
about six, which is sometimes called a pound brush, but u 
medium size, as 1 said before, a four 0, will be found the most 
convement for a person who is not used to handling a brush, 
as it will not tire the wrist in painting as much as a larger 
brush would. As I said two brushes would be required, the 
other will have to be what is called a sash tool, a small brush 
used in painting sash, and also in working into corners and 
places where the larger brush cannot be used. I have said 
Ihiit only these two brushes would be re([uired, and this is 
true, where only one color, such as white, is used ; but if 
there are several different colors to lie used, there will have 
to be a separate brush for each color. You will also require 
a pound or two of putty to slop up the nail holes in the 
cornice and corner boards, doors, A:c., and also a sheet or two 
of sand-j)aper. Vou will also require a paint bucket to mix 
your paint in — a common water bucket, such as are sold in 
all grocery stores will do — but you must get a strong one, 
and do not fill it more than a little over half full of paint, as 
the paint is vei-y heavy. You can get a tin bucket holding 
about a gallon to paint out of, and take a piece of stout Avire, 
bent in the form of the letter 8, to liang your tin bucket on 
the ladder while you are painting. This will be found verv 
convenient, as It would be very tiresome to hold the bucket 
in the hand viiile painting. 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER 7 

I have now given a description of all the articles required 
to do a job of white painting, but for convenience, I will 
recapitulate in an abbreviated form^ so that it may be ren- 
dered more plain to a person unacquainted with the business. 
First of all, your white lead will lie in kegs; you can buy. 
25 pound kegs, 50 pound kegs, or 100 pound kegs, but the 
25 pound kegs are the most convenient to handle. Second : 
yonr oil, which if boiled, Avill appear of a dark color, and will 
require no driers, but if raw, get any of the driers before 
mentioned. Third: get your brushes, a large and a small 
one, as mentioned betore, 3'our putty, sand-paper and buckets, 
and you are then ready to proceed, which you will do in the 
following manner : 

MIXING THE PAINT. 

• 

(-)pyu one of your kegs of white lead by loosening the 
hoops, and taking the head out, or with a hammer split the 
head and take it out without loosening the hoops. When 
tliis is done, rake a wooden padd!(> and lift out about half of 
the white lead, if it is a 25 pound keg, and if it is a 50 pound 
keg, about a quarter of what is in the keg will be enough ; 
this Avill be about twelve or thirteen pounds, and put it into 
your large bucket to mix it with the oil. You will then pour 
(Ui this quantity of lead about live pints of linseed oil, and if 
the oil is boiled you have nothing more to do than stir it up 
well with a paddle, until it is thoroughly mixed. If the oil is 
not boiled you must not forget to put in your driers, which 
will be a pint, more or less, according as you may want it to 
dry quick or slow, remembering that paint dries slow in cold 
weather and fast in Avarm weather, and that the more you 
])ut in the quicker it will dry ; but it is not a good plan to 
make it dry too quick. If you use litharge for driers, put in 
about half a pound, more or less, and if it is coarse powder, 
pulverize it with a hammer, or something that will crush the 
lumps, and throw it in and mix thoroughly with the paint. 
If your driers are the patent driers, put in about two or 
diree tablespoonfuls, and mix all up together. These pro- 



5 EVERY MAN HllS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

portious given will be fouod sutiicieut for most kinds of 
priming, us the first coat is called. AVhen you come to mix 
the second coat of paint, you will have to use more white 
lead, so as to make the paint thicker; but jon can soon learn 
.the proportions to use by a little practice and by trying the 
paint on a board, until you got it to look pretty white ; but 
be sure and not get your first coat or priming too thick, as it 
will look smeary and not have an even appearance. You 
will next have to bind your large brush, as it will be too 
flexible, or as we say, too limber, to use as it is. You must 
take several yards of strong twine, and commencing about 
half way of the brush, bind it round and round upwards 
towards the handle. Y'ou must then secure this binding (so 
that it will not slip dowm in working with it) b}^ bringing the 
end of the twine up over the head of the brush and tying it 
there. This being done, you 'will then be ready to go to 
work. You must fill your small bucket a little over half full 
of the paint, and, ascending your ladder or scaftbld, com- 
mence at the top of your work and work downwards, so that 
the drops may not fall on your finished work, and be sure 
and do not paint a little here and a little there, but carry it 
across the building, for if you leave it to dry in patches it 
will show where it is joined together, and will not look Avell. 
It will be necessary to give the work three coats of paint to 
make a good job, though two will do on some kind of work 
and look very well. 

TO PAINT HOUSES THAT HAVE BEEN WEATHER-BEATEN, 

OK EXl'OSKD TO THK WKATHKU A LONG TIME WITHOUT BlilXG PAIKTEU. 

It must be understood that the directions which have thus 
far been given aj)ply only to new wood-work, or to such work 
as has not been exposed to the weather. 

Now in order to do a good job of painting on old Aveather- 
beaten siding, it is necessarj', first, to try with a coarse broom 
to brush ott" as much of the dust and dirt a^ possible, and then 
to mix a sizing composed of the following ingredients : 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 9 

Take a pound of glue, tuid pouring water over it so as to 
cover it, let it stand all night and soak. The next morning 
pour more water over it, and heat it in a- kettle, and it will 
soon dissolve by stirring it. Then mix this up in about two 
common puilfuls, or bucketfals of water. There wdll then 
be about four or five gallons of size, into which you will stir 
about six or eight pounds of Spanish White, or, as it is called 
sometimes. Whiting. ]!N"ever mind if the whiting is in lumps, 
it will soon dissolve by stirring it well in the sizing. When 
it is all dissolved you can then commence laying it on with a 
common Avhite-wash brush, and as soon as it is dry j^ou can 
commence with yonr oil paint over it, and you will find that 
it wull save oil paint and make a better job. Of course you 
will find that it will take more oil paint than if the work was 
new, but still the sizing it first will bo a saving in paint, and 
also _you will find it much easier to spread the paint on the 
s^zed surface. 

DIKECTIONS FOE MIXING THE DIFFEKENT COLORS. 

What I have hitherto said on the subject of painting, has 
only been to explain how a plain job of white painting can be 
done. I must now say something about the different colors 
used in painting, but as they are very numerous, and would 
take up a great deal of room in this book, to very little pur- 
pose, 1 shall confine myself to such paints as are in common 
use, and such as can be obtained at any common coantry store 
all over the United States. 

In the first place it must be understood that white lead is 
the basis of most paints used in house painting; but I must 
state here, that there are some cheap paints that can be mixed 
without any Avhite lead, and will answer a very good purpose 
for rough work. The recipes for mixing the kind of cheap 
paints here spoken of, will be given in another part of this 
l)Ook. But I shall here speak of the paints having white lead 
as their basis. In the first place I will begin by describing 

THE METHOD OP MIXING COLOES 

so AS TO OBTAIN ANY TINT OR SHADE REQUIRKD. 

In the first place you have to mix your white paint in the 



10 EVERY MAN HIS 0\VN HOUSE PAINTER. 

msnner described in the article on plain white pahiting ; then 
if you Avish 

To make a Lead color, take lamp-black, we will say about a 
tea-cup full of lampblack, to about a gallon of the Avhite 
paint, and mash the lumps, or pass the lamp-black through a 
sifter, and mix it thoroughly in the Avhite paint, and you will 
have a good lead color. If it is not dark enough put in more 
lamp-black, and if it is too dark put in more white lead, until 
the desired tint is obtained. 

To mahe a Purple or Lilac color, take some Venetian red, 
and mix in the above lead color, uiitil the requii-ed shade is 
obtained. If you wish 

To make a Flesh Color, take the pulverized A'eiietian red as 
it is sold at the drug and paint stores, and it will not require 
any grinding if you get a good article, and mix about two 
pounds of it in about a gallon of the white lead paint. You 
can put in more or less of the A'enetian red, according to the 
tint required. 

To make Braba uf differ ent shades, use the raw umber, well 
pulverized, and mixed in the white lead paint, about two 
pounds of umber to about one gallon of the Avhite lead paint, 
more or less, as you may require a darker or a lighter shade. 

Buff Colors of Diff^erent Shades, may be made by using 
Chrome Yellow. And here I would sa}' that the chrome 
yellow, as it is usually sold at the paint stores, is in lumps, 
but these lumps are easilj' pulverized, and if you have not got 
a paint stone, or a paint mill to grind it in, it will do very 
well for you to mash up the lumps, as line as you can, on a 
lioard, or anything convenient, and thoji pa^s it through a 
corn-meal sifter, or anything of a similar nature. Having 
done this, and got j'our chrome yellow in a line ]>owder, put 
in about one pound of it to al)out a gallon of th.c white paint, 
and this Avill make a beautiful straw color. Bui as you want 
to make a butf, you must put in about one-half pound, or a 
pound of raw umber, according to the shade you may re- 
quire. 

To make a iitraw Color of any shade, use Ciirome Yellow iu 
the white lead, as above directed. 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 11 

To make a cheap Yellow, use Yellow Ochre in the white 
paint, two or three pounds to the gallon of white paint; but 
be sure and get the best yellow ochre, as some ol the yellow 
ochre sold at the paint stores is too coarse, and too much like 
sand to use on anything but the roughest kind of Avork. 
You can use more or less of the ochre, as you may require a 
lighter or darker tint. 

To make an Orange color, you must take Chrome Yellow, 
pulverized as above directed, and put ahout a pound, or a 
pound and a half into about a gallon of the white lead paiat, 
and then take about a pound of Venetian red, more or 
less, as you nxaj require a deeper or lighter shade of orange. 
If 30U require a finer tint of orange, you can use red lead, or 
Vermillion, instead of YenetiaTi red, to mi.x: in your yellow as 
above directed. 

TO 31IX AND [;SE THE GREENS. 

1 will now proceed to dcsiu'ibe the ijature and properties of 
the Greens in common use ; and as these colors are the most 
difficult of any other colors, for a person unacquainted with 
the business to manage, I shall be xevx particular in my direc- 
tions as to mixing and la3ing them on. I would, first of all, 
advise any one having anything to do with these paints, 
(and in fact Avith any other paints of a poisonous nature,) to 
be very careful and keep their hands and clothes as clean 
from the paints as possible. These paints are neither injuri- 
ous, nor will they do any harm to any one, when they get 
sufficiently dry on the woi'k. But whilst they are in a moist 
state they can be absorbed into the system through the pores 
of the skin, and also by breathing the air impregnated with 
the fames, and by w^orking in them for any length of time 
they will prove injurious. Therefore it is necessary for the 
]iainter to keep himself as clean of paint as possible. 

Chrome Creen and Paris Gi'een are the greens most com- 
monly used, and are considered the most serviceable. The 
Chrome Green is much darker than the Paris Green, and is 
the cheapest of the two, and has more body than the Paris 
Green, but it is not as pretty a green. Some painters put 



12 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUsE PAINTER. 

white lead into the Chrome Green, to lighten it, but it is a 
bad plan, as it causes the green to fade so soon. I do not like 
to use it mixed with white lead ; I much prefer the following 
plan : 

To Mix a good Green for Window Bhutters, &c. Take about 
equal quantities of chrome green and Paris green, and put 
them in your paint bucket, and pour boiled oil on them until 
you get them thin enough to use conveniently. But.be care- 
ful not to make it too thin, as it will run. It is best to use it 
as thick as you can ; and another thing you wall have to be 
particular about, and that is that you get in plenty of driers. 
If your oil should not be boiled, you will have to put in about 
a quart of Japan driers to a gallon of the green paint; or 
about two pounds of litharge (if _vou cannot get Japan driers) 
will answer the same purpose. Xow, you must understand, 
that whatever work you ma}^ have to paint with the green, 
(mixed as above described.) it is much the best to prime the 
work Avith some of the lead colored paint described in the 
article under the head of "Lead Color." Prime your work 
with this color, not too dark, and then it will be ready, when 
dry, to receive two coats of the green ; and if it does not 
look well, 3'ou might have to give it a third coat of green. 
And in connection with this, it is as well to give some 

INSTRUCTIONS HO^V TO KILL THE KNOTS IN WORK. 

As the knots in pine Avood are apt to show through your 
M'ork, even after you have put on three coats, you cannot 
hide them, and if there are many of them, thej^give rathe^ a 
bad appearance to the v/ork. Painters have resorted to 
various methods of hiding these knots, whicli they call ' killing' 
them; liut I know, from experience, that they nve hard to kill, 
and they are apt, after a short time, to rise un in judgment 
against the painter, unless he is ver}^ particul:i i- in using some- 
thing to cover the resinous matter contained in them. I be- 
lieve the old method is about the best — and that is to melt a 
little glue in Avater, so as to make a thin size, and stir in some 
litharge, or red lead ; say about two tablespoonfuls of lith- 
arge or red lead, to about a teacupful of the size, and taking 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. lo 

a. small clean brush, you cau go over the knots, keeping the 
mixture well stirred up from the bottom. This must all be 
done before you commence painting, and when perfectly dry, 
you can go on with your priming. There are other methods 
of killing the knots in pine Avood, used by painters, such as 
going ovei them with a kind of varnish made of shellac dis- 
solved in alcohol, and also by going over tlicni with some 
Japan driers, which last plan will answer as good a purpose 
as any, if you can give it sufficient time to dry, which wiU 
take two or three hours. . 

TO MAKE A GOOD DAEK GP.EEN FOR CAEEIAGES. 

Take Chrome Yellow, and having pulverized, or ground it 
very fine, mix it with a suiBcient quaiitity of boiled linseed 
oil to make it easy to work. You then take, in the propor- 
tion of about two or three tablespooufuls of lampblack to 
about one pound of the chrome yellow, and mix in with the 
yellow, and you will have a good dark green color, very suit- 
able for carriages. Ifj'our oil is not boiled, 3'ou must not 
forget to put in som.e of the driers, as mentioned in other 
T'ecipes in this book. 

Other Dark Greens can be made by using chrome green, 
and mixing in v,'ith it lampblack or burnt umber, to the 
shade requii*ed. 

magnesia' GEEEN. 

There is another kind of green color w^hich is coming very 
much into favor with painters, and, I thinks will eventually 
supercede the use of chrome green and Pjiris green ; and I 
think there is no doubt but that it is much less liable to fade, 
and will be found to stand the weather ^much better, than 
either of the other greens here mentioned. You can mix 
white lead, or zinc white, with this ilagnesia Green, and it 
will not injure its durability j and you can obtain a lighter 
green or a darker green, by putting in more or less of white 
lead or zinc white. Y^ou must mix it to a pi-oper consistency 
for painting by using boiled oil, or else raw oil and driers. 



14 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

BLUE PAINT OF ANY SHADE REQUIRED. 

Prussian Blue is the color prineipaiij* used by painters for 
tlie purpose of mixing with white lead, and obtaining any 
shade of blue required; but as it is, when bought in a dry 
state, in lumps, which are hard to pulverize or grind, unless a 
person has a paint mill, or a paint stone, I w-ould advise per- 
sons not having an}" means of grinding it, to buy it ready 
ground, put up in cans of a pound or tv.'o pounds each, which 
can be dona at any of the paint stores. Having obtained 
your Prussian Blue, already ground, you can take about a gal- 
lon of white paint, mixed as directed in the article under the 
head of "White Paint," and put in about half a pound, or a 
pound of your blue, (according to the shade required,) and 
you will have a beautiful blue. This is the common method 
of mixing the blues used by painters. There are other blues, 
such as Indigo, w^hich is a vegetable color, and also an expend 
sive blue called Ultramarine. But these two last mentioned 
colors are not in common use, onh* the ultramarine, which 
is used for very fine work, and also in cai'riage painting. 

TO MIX RED TAINT. 

There are various kinds of red paint in common use aniong 
painters, but red lead, Venetian red and American vermillion 
are the principal colors used to make red paint. The red 
lead, as it is commonly sold at the paint shops, if of a good 
quality, will do without grinding for most kinds of work, and 
is generally used without any mixture of other paints, 
where you want a good light red for w^agons, &c., but if you 
should want a darker red, you can mix about half Yenetiau red 
and half red lead. You need not be particular about putting 
in driers into this paint, as the red lead is a drier of itself. 
If you should want a very light red, you can mix into the 
red lead some white lead to the shade required. In mixing 
this paint you have nothing to do but pour in your linseed 
oil until you get it to work easj- — the lirst coat or priming 
may be rather thin — it will take about three coats to make 
a good job on a Avagon or plow, &c. Yenetian red is a darker 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 15 

red thau red lead, and will do very well for any kind of work 
where a dark red is required, but it must have boiled oil, or 
else driers must be used in it, American Vermillion is a 
very fine red, and is used only in very fine work ; it makes 

A BEAUTIFUL COLOR FOR CARRIAGES 

By mixing in lampblack with the vermillion until you get 
a beautiful dark brown. There is another kind of vermillion 
called the Chinese Yermillion, but this is more expensive 
than what is called the American Vermillion. It is put up 
in small paper packages, with Chinese characters on it; but 
this article is used only in the very finest work, and by 
artists. There are also other expensive reds of a vegetable 
nature, such as carmine and the different colors called lakes. 

But it is not necessarj' to enter into details as to the mix- 
ing of these expensive colors, as this book is designed for 
eveiy-day practical men, although artists and men Avho think 
they understand the business of painting thoroughly, may 
receive great benefit and a great many useful hints, by study- 
ing it a little and following the directions given and the rules 
laid down in this book. 

TO MAKE A WALNUT COLOR. 

A color resembling black walnut can bo made by taking 
Venetian red and mixing lampblack with it to the shade 
required. Any shade of brown may also be obtained in the 
same Avuy ; that is, by mixing Venetian red and lampblack 
together. The above is about as cheap a brown as can be 
made. Also, burnt umber mixed with white lead, makes a 
good brown. Spanish brown is a coarse paint, used only on 
very coarse work, and mixed wdth boiled oil, will make a 
cheap paint for hams and out-houses. 

A STONE COLOR. 

A Stone color can be made by mixing yellow ochre, white 
lead and raw umber, until the shade required is obtained. J 

/ 



16 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

TO MAKE A GKEY COLOE. 

Use -white lead, putting iu a little rrussian blue and a 
small quantity of red lead or vermillion. 

TO MAKE A SALMON COLOE. 

Take your white lead paint, mixed as directed under the 
head of "White Paint," and mix in a little Venetian red, 
until the shade required is obtained. 

TO MAKE A PUEPLE COLOE. 

Stir into your white lead paint about a pound or a pound 
and a half of Venetian red or red lead, and then put in 
Prussian blue until the desired shade is obtained. 

A GOOD YELLOW FOE FLOOES. 

A good Yellow for floors ma}^ be made by mixing the best 
yellow ochre with a little chrome yellow and a little white 
lead to give body to it^ not forgetting to put iu plenty of 
driers to make it dry hard and quick. 

A HAED DEYING PAINT FOE COUNTEE TOPS, CHAIES, &c. 

Take burnt or raw umber, Venetian red, or any dark color, 
and mix pretty thick in boiled oil, and then pour in black 
Japan varnish until it is thiu enough to use. 

TO BIITATE BRONZE. 

Take chrome yellow and mix in lampblack until you get a 
durk green color, and with this go over your work two or 
three times. Then procure some bronze powder from the 
paintshop, and before the last coat of paint is quite dry take 
a piece of velvet or a piece of an old buckskin glove, and 
dipping it in the bronze powrler, go over the edges and the 
most prominent parts of j'our work, and it will have all the 
appearance of bronze. 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 17 

TO MIX A PAINT FOE FKOSTING GLASS, 

OR TO IMITATE GROUND GLASS. 

Take white lead and mix it vciy thin with turpentine or 
painters' naptha, adding a little boiled oil and a little driers 
to make it dry quick. Then, with a common paint brush go 
over the window lights in as even a manner as you possibl}' 
can, and when you have got several lights covered with the 
paint, take a painters' duster — that is, a brush shaped like a 
paint brush, onl}^ much longer — and dab over the glass with 
the ends of the bristles in quick succession, until it appears 
uniform ; it will then look like ground glass. If you should 
want to remove the paint from the glass at any time, you can 
do so by using a strong solution of pearl-ash to wash it off. 

TO MAKE A FREESTONE COLOR. 

Mix Venetian red and yellow ochre with white lead and a 
little lampblack. 

TO MAKE A GOOD BLACK PAINT. 

Take boiled oil and lampblack and mix rather thick; then, 
as it is a very difficult paint to dry, you must put in Japan 
driers or coach varnish, or else litharge, in the proportion of 
half a pint of Japan driers or coach varnish to a quart of 
the paint, or about half a pound of litharge to a quart of the 
lihick paint. This amount of dries will make it dr}' quick 
enough. X. B. The coach varnish gives the black the best 
gloss. 

TO MAKE A FAWN COLOR. 

Take white lead, yellow ochre and American vermillion, or 
rod lead, and mix to required shade. 

A CHEAP COLOR FOR PLOWS, &c. 

A very good cheap color can be made for plows and other 
agricultural implements, by taking boiled oil and good yellow 
ochre. This color will stand the weather very well and looks 
well. Mix the boiled oil and yellow ochre together, as 



18 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

diroctod for other colorS; und if you have not got boiled oil 
be sure to use driers in 3'our paint. I have said a good deal 
in this book about boiled oil, and it is verv likely that a great 
many persons into Avhose hands this book may fall, will not 
understand hoAV to boil it, nor why it should be boiled Now, 
I have froquontly had persons come to me and say, ''I have 
boiled the oil for my paint, but it does not dry," and when I 
coino to inquire into the mattei', I have found that they 
simply put the raw oil into a kettle and boiled it without put- 
ting anj'thing into it. Xow, I Avill give plain directions to 
persons who cannot conveniently buy the boiled oil, and who, 
novorthelcss, wish to have it boiled, and according to my 
experience, I consider it better to use the boiled oil than to 
put driers into the raw oil, as I think it stands the weather 
much better. 

TO BOIL LINSEED OIL. 

You must first get a kettle that will hold near double the 
number of gallons that you wish to boil, as the kettle should 
not be much more than half full, for there might be danger 
of it boiling over. You must then see that your kettle is 
clean and perfectly dry. You then pour in your oil. You 
then take about half a pound of litharge for every gallon of 
oil and put it into your oil, stirring it with a wooden paddle; 
3"ou can then put it on the fire or put fire under it, and stir 
it frequently. When it begins to boil you must keep it boil- 
ing and stir it frequently, until the scum or froth has nearly 
all disappeared and the oil has assumed a dark color, which 
will be in about one hour or one and a half hours from the 
time it begins to boil. You can then remove the kettle from 
the fire, and when your oil is perfectly cool you can pour it 
off from the sediment, and your oil will be read}- to use, and 
3-0U will find it to dry without putting anj- driers into it. If 
you want to make your oil of a very strong drying qiialit}-, 
_you must increase the amount of the litharge that you bo.l 
it up:)n. But it saves trouble aii'l comes about as cheap to 
buy the oil ready boiled, if j^ou can get it conveniontlj-. 
There arc various other methods of boiling oil. By using 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 19 

sugar of lead instead of litharge to boil it on, and also by 
using red lead instead of litharge, about the same propoi"- 
tion as given above, (where the litharge is used) will do for 
the sugar of lead and the red lead; that is, it will take about 
half a pound to the gallon of either of the articles last men- 
tionc '. 

N. B. It is perhaps better to use the sugar of lead to boil 
•the oil on, where the oil is to bo used for fine work, as it is 
not quite so dark a color as when boiled on lithai-ge. I will 
now pro3eed to describe the method of painting inside work, 
as it differs from the outside work, as regards the mixing of 
the paints. 

DIRECTIONS FOR PAINTING THE INSIDE OF A HOUSE, &J. 

In the first place, if your w^ood work is pine, you must try 
to kill the knots in the work, by applying to them some of 
the knotting, the manner of making w^hich you will find 
described in another part of this book, under the head of 
"Knotting." Then, when that is done and the knotting is 
perfectly dry, you can proceed to lay on your paint, and if 
you intend to paint white color, yon can mix your priming 
in the following manner: Take about twelve or thirteen 
pounds of white lead out of 3"0ur kei; — that will be about 
half of a 25 pound keg, or about the fourth part of a 50 
pound keg, and, putting the white lead into the bucket you 
are going to mix it in, pour on to it about four pints of boiled 
linseed oil and about one pint of turpentine, or naptha. I 
prefer using the turpentine, but as it is and has been verj^ 
high in price, the naptha, which comes much cheaper, makes 
a good substitute. Having put in your oil and naptha as 
above directed, mix all up thorough!}^ with a paddle; and, as 
I have before said in the directions for outside painting, if 
you cannot get the boiled oil you must use some of the driers 
heretofore spoken of, as the pi'iming requires to have a good 
dr3-ing quality. You can now proceed to laying on your 
priming, running it into all the cracks and corners and laj'ing 
it all as smooth as possible. "When the priming is perfectly 
dry, -which it ought to bo in about twenty-four hours, you can 



20 EVERY MAN HIS OWN H0U8E PAINTER. 

then commence stoi^piriij; up the nail holes and cracks with 
putty; then, with sand-paper, rub off your work so as to 
make a smooth surface on which to paint the second coat, 
which you can noAv proceed to layino- on. But this second 
coat must have a larcjer proportion of naptha in it than the 
priming, and must be made much thicker. You must use 
about equal quantities of naptha and oil. The object in 
using so much naptha is, that when much oil is used in 
inside white painting, it will turn yellow in the course of 
a short time, and then it does not look well, but has an old 
and dingy appearance. When you have put on your second 
coat of paint, if you want to make a good job of it, you must 
mix a third coat, which you can do in a similar way as 
directed for the second coat, only it need not be quite so 
thick as the second coat, and ought to have a larger pro- 
portion of naptha. Be sure that each coat has had sufficient 
time to diy before putting on another, as you will spoil the 
appearance of your work if it is not perfectly dry, and, also, 
rub over your second coat with sand-paper, before putting on 
the third. I will here say something about 

Zinc White for Inside Wor1<. Zinc white can now be bought 
at the paint stores, put up in kegs like the white lead, and is 
about as cheap, but it has not as much body as the white lead. 
It is frequently used both for inside and outside painting, as 
a finishing coat, where the work has been gone over twice 
with the white lead. I prefer it to white lead as a finishing 
coat, especially for inside work, as it is not so apt to turn 
yellow. If yon wish to produce a dead-white finish to your 
woik, you can do so by using the zinc white as you take it 
out of the keg, without any oil, taking nothing but naptha 
to mix it with. Pour on your naptha to the zinc paint and 
stir up with a paddle. You might, however, put in a little 
boiled oil, a,s you will find it work easier b}^ doing so, say 
about a teacupful to about half a gallon of the paint. The 
white paint here spoken of is, Avhat is called by painters, flat- 
color or flatting, and is rather difficult for a person not used 
to painting to spread even ; but a little practice will obviate 
this difficulty. The proper method of painting a door, for 



KVKHY MAN HIS OWN HOUtSK PAINTKR. 21 

jjistance, with this flat color, is to coiumence with the panels, 
and having finished them, to proceed with the stiles, and 
you must try to work the color as quick as you can, in order 
to prevent it from setting before the door is finished, and if 
it sliouhl happen to set, it must be rubbed up Avith fresh color, 
so as to give it a uniform appearance. I will now proceed 
to describe anothor method of finishing inside work. 

C/iina White, a beautiful glossy tchite, may be obtained by 
using what is called China white, Avhich is zinc white ground 
up in Demar varnish. Vou can procure it put iip in cans of 
five to ten 2:)ounds each, and is sold at the paint stores in most 
hvrge towns. You will also have to procure some Demar 
varnish, Avhich can be bought at must color shops, and take 
out 3^our China white and mix Avith the Demar varnish, using 
the A'arnish as though it Avas oil, pouring it on the China 
Avhite and mixing it up thoroughly AA'ith a wooden paddle. 
If it should be too thick to spread freely, pour into it a little 
naptha; and Ave Avill suppose now that your Avork is ready 
to receiA'e the finishing coat of China Avhite ; that is, it has 
had two or three coats of Avhite lead paint, and is perfectly 
dry, and has been rubbed down Avitli sand-paper and A\adl 
dusted, that is, perfectly free from all dust, as you Avill 
haA^e to be very particular about putting on this finishing 
coat, or else it AA'ill not look aa'cII. You can bow take your 
China Avhite, prepared as aboA^e directed, and Avith a medium- 
sized soft varnish brush proceed to laA^ it on, AA'hich you Avill 
have to do quickly, as it sets A'ery fast. It Avould be best for 
you to use your brush in laying on your white lead paint so 
as to have it AA^orn a little, as a perfectly noAv brush is not 
the best to Isij on a finishing coat Avilh, and I Avill here give 
a few hints 

About the Use and Care of Brushes. Now I do not approve 
of the shape of the paint brushes in common use; they are 
made round, and the main object of a painter in using his 
brush is, to tr}' and make it wear flat. I think that the 
})roper shape to make paint brushes Avould be to make them 
like a varnish brush, only AAdth a round handle like a paint 
brush, but to have the brush of a flat or oval shape, Noav, the 



22 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

great difficulty with a person that does not understand paint- 
ing is, to keep his brush in a proper sliape. The}^ will keep 
turning it round and round as they use it, and cause it to wear 
to a point, which is very objectionable and completelj' spoils it. 
A brush to work well and spread the paint ev^en should be 
worn flat. It is a good plan in using a new brash when you 
have done with it at night, to lay it flat on a board, so that 
the bristles may be spread out like a fan, and in the morning 
it will be found ia a flat shape, and by continuing to use it 
without turning it round, it will wear into the proper shape 
to do good work; but you must be careful and do not leave 
your brushes o,ut of the paint for any length of time, for if 
you do so they will get so hard that you camot use them, 
and they will be spoiled. The best way is to leave them in 
the paint that you are using, or else in oil, or you can put 
them into water, but be careful that the water does not come 
up any further than about half way of the bristles. It must 
not reach the binding of your brush, that is, if it is bound 
with cord, for if the water covers it j'our brush will burst, by 
the water causing it to swell, and your brush will be spoiled. 
The best brashes, made of the best bristles, are to be used in 
doing fine inside work. For outside work the common brush 
may he used. 

I have hitherto spoken of using no olher color but white 
in the finishing coat for inside work, but here I Avill statc^ 
that the white may be tinted of any required color, so as to 
look very well ; for instance. 

To make a very light Lead Color with Demar Varnish. Take 
your Demar varnish and China white, mixed as directed 
under the head of a " Beautiful Glossy 'White," and put in 
a very little black paint, (that is, lampblack mixed up with 
boiled oil,) saj- about a tablcspoonful to about half a gallon of 
the paint. Put in a little of it at a time, stirring it well and 
examining the tint occasional!}', so as not to got it too dark, 
and when you have got it to suit your taste you can proceed 
to lay it on. 

To make another beautiful Finishing Shade. You may take 
your China white, and having mixed up a very light lead 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 23 

color as directed above, take a little verrailliou, and having; 
mixed it with oil, put a small quantity of it into your light 
lead color, stirring and examining it until you obtain a tint 
to suit your taste. You can also make a beautiful Straw 
Color ill the same wa}', only using chrome yellow, ground in 
oil, in place of other colors. You can also make an Orange 
Color, by putting a little vermillion into your straw color as 
above directed ; and, also, a beautifnl Light Bh^.c, by using a 
little Prussian blue in your white finishing paint, and you 
can convert this light blue into a Light Purple, by putting 
into it a little vermillion mixed in oil, and vary tl:o 
shade according to 3'our taste. For a light Buff Color you 
can use raw umber and chrome yellow ; for a Drab, use raw 
umber in your China white until it suits your taste. I woi 1 1 
here remark, that if j'our finishing eca!; does not look solid 
and even when you have put it on, you had better let it get 
thoroughly dr^-, and, after rubbing it down with sand-paper, 
yon may go over it again with the same color, and it will 
then look well and will make a more permanent job. 

1 will here say, that to do a plain job of inside work, wlicrc 
an extra finish is not required, it will not be necessary to use 
the J^emar varnish and China white, as they are too expen- 
sive for common use, but take good pure white lead or zinc 
white, and use about equal proportions of oil and naptha, 
and mix your tints as directed for finishing with Demar 
viirnish and China white. The reason why you may use the 
naptha pretty freely in inside work is, that it is not exposed 
to the weather, and the less oil used in inside work, the less 
liable it will be to become discolored hy age 3 but it Avill have 
to have a bttle oil in it, so that it can be washed off and 
cleaned when it becomes dirty ; and hero I would say some- 
thing about cleaning paint. 

THE BEST WAY TO CLEAN PAIKT. 

It is not a good plan to use strong sonp in cleaning the fly 
specks and dirt otf paint, as it has a tendency to injure the 
paint; bat if 3-011 use soap at all, you had better get a litilo 
Castile soap and warm water and clean it with that, using a 



24 EVERY MAN HIS OWN H[OU8E PAINTER. 

woolen rag and also a hair brush to wash in the corners arid 
crevices ; but a better way still is to take some whiting, and 
with a wet piece of flannel, take up as much of the powdered 
whiting as will adhere to it, and with this rub the paint, and 
it will remove all the dirt and grease ; then you can wash olf 
all the whiting that may remain with cold water, and wipe 
dry with a soft cotton rag. The paint will then look clean 
and fresh, and will not be injured by the operation. 

TO PAINT BRICK HOUSES ON THE OUTSIDE IN OIL COLORS. 

It is sometimes very necessaiy to paint brick houses on 
the outside, as it preserves the soft brick from being injured 
by the weather, and also keeps the damp from penetrating 
through so as to make the house damp inside. Painting 
brick houses also gives them a more uniform appearance. It 
is customary to paint brick houses of a red color, but a stone 
color looks very well, and an}^ shade can be given to the 
color that may be required. It is sometimes necessary, where 
the brick is very soft and porous, to go over it with size 
before painting in oil, as this will prevent the brick from 
absorbing so much of your oil paint, and your work, vi'hen 
finished, will have a better gloss. 1 will here give directions 
to make tlie sizing for a brick house. To make four or five 
gallons of sizing you must take about one pound of common 
glue and cover it with water, and let it stand to soak all 
night. In the morning it will be converted into a jelly, and 
can be easily dissolved by warming it a little. You can then 
pour this dissolved glue into four or five gallons of water and 
stir it up, and if a^ou are going to paint your house red, stir 
into your size about four or five pounds of Venetian red, and 
with a common whitewash brush, go over your brick work. 
When this is perfectly dry you can commence painting with 
your oil color. If you intend to paint youi liouse a stone 
color, you can use yellow ochre or whiting in your sizing 
instead of the Venetian red. The method of mixing the 
different colors for brick work does not vary much from the 
method employed in mixing it for wood, only you need not 



EVKKY MAN HIS OWN HOUSK PAINTER. JO 

luiike your priming quite no thick as you would do for wood 
work. You can make an excellent red for brick houses by 
using Venetian red and red lead, in the proportion of about 
one-half Yeuctian red and one-half red lead, mixed in either 
raw or boiled oil, as the red lead will make your paint dry 
(as it is a drier of itself ) even if your oil is raw. You ought 
to buy your Venetian red and red lead Avell pulverized and 
then you will have no occasion to grind it. If you should 
wish 

To Faint a Brick House a tStone Color, you can use yellow 
ochre and raw umber to the required shade, but recollect that 
this paint w^ill not dry well unless you use boiled oil or driers 
in it. All other shades of color that you may desire, can be 
mixed in about the same manner as directed for mixing them 
for wood work; a very little naptha or turpentine can be used 
to make your paint work easy, but be sure and not use it too 
freely in outside painting, for it causes paint to fade much 
sooner than it otherwise would. Xot more than a pint to a 
gallon should be used. 1 will now give some 

DIRECTIONS HOW TO PAINT WAGONS, PLOWS, &c. 

The directions which I shall here give will be as plain and 
minute as possible, perhaps more so than would be necessary, 
provided this book was only intended for those who had some 
knowledge of painting, but as it may fall into the hands of 
thousands who have not the slightest knowledge of the art of 
jjainting, it is requisite that I should be particular and minute 
in the explanations given, ov else this book will not possess the 
value and importance which will be attached to it in consc- 
(juence of the extreme perspicuity and plainness of its direc- 
tions. If the wagon is new that you intend to paint, you must 
lirst get it clean of all dust that may have collected upon it, and 
take off the bed so that you can get at the running gear with 
greater ease. You can then raise one of the wheels, and com- 
mencing on the upper side of the spokes, keep turning your 
wheel round until all the upper sides of the spokes are finished. 
You can then reverse it or turn it the other waj^, and paint 



26 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAI.XTER. 

all the under side of the spokes, and run 3'our paint well in 
between the spokes, or where they enter the hub ; but do not 
let your paint lodge there and afterwards run over the spokes, 
as it will not look well. Having finished the spokes, yon can 
then finish the hub. Then go round the rim on both sides 
and lastly finish your wheel inside the rim between the spokes. 
By taking it thus regularly round, you will paint it quicker 
and better than if you were to try to do it (as young beginners 
frequently do) by putting a dab here and a dab there, and 
then have to examine and look round their woi'k to see where 
they have painted and where they have not. You will next 
proceed to painting the remaining part of the running gears, 
such as the axles, coupling-pole, &c. When this is done you 
have to let it get perfectly dry, then Avith putty stop up all 
the cracks 3'ou can find, and rub over 3'our work with sand- 
paper; having done which, you are then ready to go over it with 
a second coat of paint, which must be a little thicker than the 
first coat or priming. By thus going over it three or four 
times and rubbing down each coat with sand-paper, you can 
get a good finish to your worlc. If 3'ou want to paint the 
irons black you can go over them with some black paint, 
taking a small brush to lay it on with. One coat Avill gen. 
crall}' be found sufficient for them if you use it thick enough 
to cover the irons well. This painting of the irons should be 
done when all the other part of 3'our work is finished anddr}-. 
Some persons will not go to the ti-ouble of blacking the irons, 
but Avill paint all over the same color, which wnll do ver}^ well, 
only it looks better and makes a better finish to the work, and 
that is about all the advantage blacking has. You can paint 
th3 bed of your wagon any color you may choose, but it is 
customary to paint it a different color from the running gear; 
but this is only a matter of taste. 

To Faint an Old Wagon, you must first get it quite clean 
from dirt or grease, and if 3'^ou want to make a good smooth 
job, 3'ou must rub it well down with sand-paper and after- 
wards commence Avith 3'our first coat as directed for new- 
wagons, and aiier it is perfectly dr3', put on a second or 
third coat, or a fourth coat if it should not look well, and 



y\ 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAIKTER. 27 

appear to requii'O it. I will now say something as regards 
the 

Paints to be used on Wagons. Eed i^^ u very euranion color 
for the running gear of wagons, and a blue or a dark green 
for the bed; but any shade of color may be used to suit the 
fanc%'. If 3'ou want a good red color for wagons, you can 
use half red lead aud half Venetian red ; or if you wish a 
light red for wagons, use red lead alone or mixed with white 
lead till you get the shade required. If you want a blue for 
wagons, use Prussian blue and white lead. You can buv 
the Prussian blue put up in cans already ground, which will 
save you the trouble of grinding it. If you should wish a 
dark green for wagons, use chrome green and a little lamp- 
l)lack, which will look very well. Yellows of different shades 
are made by using chrome yellow, white lead and j'ellow 
oi'hre. For a black, for irons on wagons, &c,, you can use 
lampblack mixed with a little boiled oil and patent driers or 
litharge, or else, what is better, get some coach or copal var- 
nish and mix an equal quantin* of linseed oil with it, and stir 
in lampblack until you get it pretty thick; and to make it 
work easy j'ou can thin it with a little benzine, or naptha, 
which is the same article under a different name. 

The amount of Paint required to paint a Wagon will all 
depend upon how many coats you may give it, and upon the 
size of the wagon you may have to paint; but about three or 
foiir pints of oil and about five or six pounds of red lead or 
Venetian red, will be enough to paint an ordinarj- sized 
wagon two or threo coats. 

To paint Plows and other Implements that require painting. 
I would here remark that the farmer can save money and his 
agricultural instruments last much longer, b}^ painting them 
over about once ever}'- year, as it not only preserves the 
wood itself, but prevents the wet getting into the joints 
and causing them to swell, and after they become diy again 
to get loose. It also keeps the irons from getting loose and 
the wood from shrinking so much when exposed to the sun^ 
and then the appearance of them is so much improved. 
If that was the oni}^ advantage it would be worth "while to 



28 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

keep thein well painted. You cau mix paint for them in the 
same manner as for Avagons, and at any leisure time they can 
be washed off or cleaned in some way and painted, to do 
which will cost hut a mere trifle, when you mix and use your 
paint according to the instructions given in this book. I 
will here say something about 

THE METHOD OF PAtNTINU BUGGIES AND GAKRIAGES. 

Here I would say, that if your work is new, you must put 
on several coats of white lead or zinc paint, rendered very 
drying with Japan driers, and as soon as one coat is dry it 
must be rubbed down Avith sand-paper or pumice-stone, and 
another put on until you get a smooth hard surface, and if 
the color that you intend to paint (your buggy or carriage) is 
to be a dark color, it is best to darken your white lead or 
zinc paint with lampblack. If j^ou have now got a good 
smooth surface on 3'our work by following the instructions 
above given, you can commence putting on the color which 
you wish your work to be ; about two or three coats of the 
color will do, not forgetting to rub each coat with sand-paper, 
taking care that each coat is perfectly dry before the sand- 
paper IS applied. If these directions have been properly 
carried out your Avork Avill look smooth and solid. You 
must now take the best coach A^arnish, and if it is too thick, 
thin it Avith a little benzine or turpentine ; then, Avith a good 
soft A'-arnish brush go evenly over you work, and Avhen that 
coat of A-arnish is quite dry, rub it OA-er Avith sand-paper, 
which Avill take off the gloss, but Avhich is to be restored by 
another coat of A-arnish. Y"ou can giA^e several coats of var- 
nish to your Avork until it appears to have bod}^ enough, then 
put on your finishing coat of A'arnish and it Avill have a beau- 
tiful gloss. This is the method generally followed by paint- 
ers in doing fine work, but where nothing more than a com- 
mon good job is Avanted, you need not take so much trouble 
or go over so many times Avith the zinc paint and A^arnish. 
In painting old buggies the sui-face of the work Avill haA^e to 
be Avell cleaned from dirt and grease, and avcU rubbed doAvn 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 29 

with pumice-stone or sand-paper, and then lay on two or 
three coats of the color you Avish to use, and varnish a time 
or two with the best coach varnish. 

There is another method of finishing up the running gear 
of carriages, and which looks very well, and that is to take 
the work when quite new and rub off with sand-paper, or 
scrape off, all the black marks or linger marks which may be 
on it, or which will be likely to show through the varnish, 
and when this is done and your work looks quite clean, you 
can then commence (wnthout putting on any paint) to give it 
a coat of boiled oil with a clean varnish brush, and after this 
coat is dr}' you can then give it two or three coats, or more 
if you want, of the best coach varnish, and the grain of the 
wood will show through and look very w^ell. You can then 
paint the body of your carriage according to the recipes 
given in this book on another page ; and there are many 
persons who prefer this method of finishing the running gear 
of caiTiages to that of painting them with any solid colors, 
and it pi'eserves the Avood and lasts just about as long as 
paint would. 

TO PAINT OLD INSIDE WOEK. 

As it is the design of the author of this work to make it 
as plain and practical a work on this subject as can possibly 
tie made, I shall now proceed to give a few instructions upon 
painting the inside of houses, where the wood work is old, 
greasy and dirty; and as to the time of doing this work, it 
can be done at any time most convenient, but it is perhaps 
better to do it during moderately cold weather, for if it is 
done in warm weather, the flies and little insects Avhich are 
generally very numerous at that time may prove trouble- 
some, by sticking upon the fresh paint. It is certainly ver}' 
economical to keep the wood work inside of a house well 
painted, especially where it can be done without calling in 
the aid of a regular painter; and it ought to be gone over 
about once in every two years. Giving it two moderately 
thin coats will be found better than thick coats, as these 
latter are more expensive and will not look as well. You 



30 EVERY iMAN UIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

can mix jour paint about as thick as rich cream, and jou 
can try it on a piece of board, and if it appears too transpa- 
rent and does not cover the wood pretty well, you must make 
it a little thicker, until you get it about right, when you can 
proceed to laj'ing it on ; but first of all, you niust be sure 
that your work is free from dirt and grease, as paint will not 
adhere well to a dirty and greasy surface ; and it is genoralh^ 
the case that the wood work of a kitchen or wash house, 
where it has not been painted for some time, is both dirty 
and greasy, especially about the doors. In order, therefore, 
to get it clean, so that the paint will adhere to the wood, you 
must take moderately strong soap and wash it off well, then 
take a clean cloth and a little freshwater and rub it off as 
clean as you can, or j'ou may take lye instead of soap and 
use it the same way, or you may take benzine, and with a 
little clean rag dipped into it you may rub the grease off the 
surface of the wood, and when your wood work is perfectly 
dry, you can proceed to laying on j'our paint. Here I would 
give a few hints about using your brush. It is a very com- 
mon fault with persons not used to painting to take too much 
paint in their brush at one time, and b}' doing so they drop it 
over the floor and waste it to no purpose. Kow, the best 
way to do is, to dip your brush into the paint about one inch, 
or one and a-half inches, and then sti'ikc your brush sev- 
eral times on the inside of your paint bucket. You can 
remove 3'our brush and you will have about the I'ight quan- 
tity of paint in it. By observing this rule you will soon bo 
able to do your painting without dropping much paint on the 
floor. Your paint should be mixed with boiled oil, or else it 
should have some driers put into it, such as Japan driers or 
litharge, and then it will dvy in about one day, and will soon 
become quite hard. You ought to use the best white lead or 
white zinc paint, and by putting into it a little yellow oohi'o 
or a little lampblack, you can get pome very desirable shades 
of color. The yellow ochre makes a very durable color for 
floors and mop-boards, and I would say, that where you paint 
about sinks and drains, or where sulphurious gases maj- arise, 
it is better to use the zinc white in place of the white load, 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. di 

as it will not become discolored as soou as white lead, noi* 
will it be so liable to turn yellow. By attending to these 
simple directions, any one can do their own painting, and it 
will save a large amount of hard labor which must otherwise 
be used in keeping the house clean. It will not be necessary 
here, to say any more about mixing the* different shades of 
coloi*, as I have given plain and simple directions in other 
parts of this book which can be referred to ; but you miist 
lie particular and do not let your brushes remain out of the 
paint to get dry, or else they will be spoiled. You must 
either keep them in the paint or else in oil, or if you Avish to 
clean your brush when you have done with it, you can do so 
by using xevy strong soap-suds and hot water and washng 
out all the paint, and this is the best plan where you arc not 
going to use it again for some time. 

CHEAP PAnfTS. ' 

SUBSTITUTES FOR WHITE LKAH. 

I will now proceed to give particular directions how to mix 
a class of paints wherein white lead is not used, but which 
are very cheap and very durable. I may say that they have 
been found by trial to be equally as durable and some of them 
even more durable than white lead painl, and as white lead 
has become so expensive, these cheap substitutes here recom- 
mended will be found to save a great deal of money to those 
persons doing their own painting, and will make this book 
more valuable than any work on the same subject that has 
ever been brought before the public. I will here proceed to give 
directions how to mix an excellent paint which will dry with 
a good hard surface, and resist the weather equally as Avell or 
better than white lead paint. It is applicable to stone, brick 
or wood work. It is Avell known that upon taking fresh 
burnt lime from the kiln and exposing it to the air even in a 
dry place, it will crumble and fall into a powder by absorbing 
moisture from the atmosphere. It is then, when in this state, 
called air-slacked lime, which is different from lime slacked 
by pouring water upon it. ISIow, in order to make this paint, 
you must take about three quarts of this air-slacked lime, and 



32 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

two quarts of fine sand, and two quarts of wood ashes ; pass 
all this together through a fine sieve so as to mix the articles 
well, and also to take out all the lumps. This composition 
will now have the appearance of a fine grey powder. You 
can then mix it in a paint bucket with boiled oil, to a proper 
consistence for working easy. You can put on two or three 
coats of this paint, the first thin, the second about as thick as 
you can eonvenientl}'' use it. This will make a paint of a 
light gray color, but you can make it of any required color) 
by mixing it with some of the earthy colors, such as Spanish 
brown, &c. If you want a good brown you can use burnt 
umber in it until you obtain the required shade, or you may 
use the Venetian red and a little lampblack, and that will 
make a good brown ; and to make a stone color, use yellow 
ochre and raw umber, or a little lampblack in place of the 
raw umber; or yqu can make a lead color by using lampblack 
until you obtain the desired shade. To make a fawn or 
drab color, you can use yellow ochre with a little Venetian 
red, which will make a very good color for a house. 

You can also make a paint that looks well and stands the 
weather very well, by using Venetian red and boiled oil, 
mixed to the proper consistence to j)aint Avith. This paiut 
will not require any white lead and comes cheap, and will do 
for either brick, w^ood or stone., YelloAV ochre can be used 
in the same wa}^ without any white lead. 

Another Cheap Paint can be made by using finel}' pulverized 
hydraulic cement, mixed in boiled oil, but as this has not 
much body, it is improved by putting into it a little w^hite 
lead. Any color desired may be given to this by using the 
colors as directed in the other cheap paints. 

Another Cheap Brown Paint for Barns, Outhouses, d-c, may 
be made by using boiled oil, mixed with Spanish brown to a 
proper consistence to paint with. This makes a very good 
cheap and durable paint, but is not suitable for fine work. 
You can use whiting, or as it is sometimes called Spanish 
white, to make this color lighter, and if you should wish to 
modify it and -remove its reddish appearance, you can use 
lampblack until the shade desired is obtained. 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 33 

I now come to speak of a class of colors, called by paiuters 
DISTEMPER OE SIZE COLOES. 

I would here remark that these colors are useful only on 
the walls and ceilings of rooms, wiiere they are not exposed 
to the weather, as the article used to make them adhere to 
the surface of the work is size, and it would not bear expo- 
sure to the weather, but would wash off with the rain. As 
these colors can bo easily applied by any one, and as they 
cost but a trifle compared with oil colors and look veiy well, 
I will proceed to give particular directions how to mix and 
apply them. In defining up houses in the spring, by applying 
a coat or two of these colors to Avails that are not papered, it 
will add very much to the clean appearance of the rooms. 
In the first place, I will explain 

Hoiv to prepare the SLe for these colors. The best size that 
can be used for distemper colors is that made by boiling and 
soaking the skins of animals, which contain a kind of trans- 
parent glue, and which is considered superior to the common 
glue of the shops, where a delicate color is required to be 
used. You may take the skin of animals and cut it into 
shreds, and let it soak about a day or two in water, and when 
sufficiently soaked it is then to be boiled in the same water 
in which it has been soaking, taking care not to let it burn, 
which might discolor 3-our size. If xxwj scum arise it has 
to be removed, and if the water should boil down you must 
keep filling it up. When it has boiled about five or six hours, 
you can then remove it from the fire and strain it through a 
coarse cloth, and if you intend to keep it for any length of 
time, you muse dissolve abouf two pounds of alum in boiling 
water and add this to every pailful of size; it can then be 
kept in a cool place for a long time without sjioiling. Xow, 
it must be understood, that it is not necessary to go to all 
this trouble, only where very delicate colors are to be used. 
A much easier way of making the size will be to take the 
common glue of the shops, and by soaking it all night in 
water it will appear like a jelly, which will soon dissolve by 
warming it, and it is then ready for use. I would here say 

— o 



34 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

that you mn_y knoAv when you have got the size thick enough, 
b}^ letting it cool, and if it appear like a weak, trembling jelly, 
it will do. From about four to six ounces of glue will be 
enough for two and a half gallons of water, and in mixing 
in your colors you must not make it too thick, that is, you 
must not jjut in too much of your color, as it will be apt to 
peel off, but it should be about the consistence of cream, and 
your color should be applied to the walls when cold, as j^ou 
can then make it look more uniform. I will now proceed to 
give some instructions as to the method of mixing the differ- 
ent shades of color to be applied to your plastered walls. I 
Avould however say, that your walls should be brushed 
down with a coarse broom before applying the color, so as 
to remove all dust and dirt that may have collected on them. 

To make a Straw color in Size. Take wdiit!ing (or as it is 
sometimes called Spanish white) and mix it in your sizing — 
you need not be particular in breaking the lumps in the whit- 
ing, as it will all dissolve in the size — and when your color 
looks white and is about as thick as cream, you can then put 
in some well pulverized chrome yellow, until you obtain the 
desired shade. 

To make several shades of Drab in Size. Dissolve your 
whiting in the size as dii'ected for straw color, and when 
sufficiently dissolved you can put in raw umber until you 
have a shade to suit your taste; if you want a different shade 
of drab you can use burnt umber. Before going any fai'ther, 
I must say that it is very difficult for a person who is not 
used to mixing these colors, to know when they have got 
a shade that will suit them, and the only way they can pro- 
ceed to ascertain the shade of color that is mixed in size, is to 
take a piece of board and putting some of 3'our color upon 
it, you must then let it dry, and you will then see the shade 
it will be when laid on 3'our walls and dry. A color that 
looks very dark wdiile it is wet will be very light when dry. 

Other shades of Drab may be made b}' using yellow ochre 
and whiting, until you have produced a strong yellow, and 
then rub up some lampblack in vinegar and mix in 3'our 
y.'Uow color until you get the shade you may require. 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 35 

Another shade may be obtained by using a little Yenetian 
red in the above color, and by so using more or less of these 
pigments, a variety of shades may be obtained. 

^-^1 good Blue for Size may be made with indigo and whiting 
mixed up in the size, and if you wish to make a dark blue, 
you can use a little lampblack rubbed i;p in vinegar, or 3'ou 
can use more of the indigo ; you can also use Prussian blue 
instead of indigo. 

A good Green in Size. A good green of any shade may be 
made hy taking the blue color, mixed as directed in the 
article on Blue, in size, and putting into it some well pulver- 
ized chrome yellow, and you can get a green of any shade 
by properly varying the amount of j^ellow put into the blue, 
as it is a well known fact that blue and j'ellow will make a 
green. 

To make other Greens. You can use chrome green or mag- 
nesia green mixed in your size with whiting, until you get 
the shade you may require. 

To make a Gray Color of any Shade, you can use lampblack 
mixed up in vinegar, and then mix in your whiting in size ; 
and you can obtain any required shade of gray. According 
to the amount of lampblack used, you can have a dark or a 
light gray. The reason why it is recoramendeJ to rub up 
the lampblack with vinegar is that it is very difficult to make 
it mix in water on account of its greasy nature. 

To make other Grays, you can use Yenetian red and indigo 
or Prussian blue, which will make grays of different shades. 
Grab's of a fine shade and for fine work may bo made by 
using lake (which is a red pigment of a vegetable nature) 
and dissolving it in water; add it to your whiting in size, and 
then taking indigo dissolved in the same manner, mix it into 
your red or flesh color obtained from your lake, and accord- 
ing to the amount of indigo so you can regulate your shade 
of graj^ You can use rose pink in place of the lake, but it 
is not as durable a color. 

To make a Flesh color in Size. You can, for this color, use 
Yenetian red; mix it into your whiting and size until you 
obtain the required shade. 



36 EVERY MAN HlS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

To make a Purple, j'ou can put into the flesh color last 
mentioned, a little lampblack, until you get the shade jon 
want. 

A very good Yelloio in Size can be made with 3'ellow ochre 
mixed with whiting. 

A good Orange color can be made by using chrome yellow 
and Venetian red, mixed with whiting in size. 

To lay on these colors in Size, you can use a lai'ge 2:»aint 
brush or a whitewash brush, and a small brush to work 
in the corners and around windows and doors. About two 
coats will be required to make it look uniform. 

GENEEAL VALUABLE KECIPES EOR MAKING CHEAP 
PAINTS. 

The following recipes will be found of great value to any 
persons that may wish to improve the appearance of their 
houses at a trifling expense. These cheap paints will be 
found to last nearly as long as common oil paint, and will be 
found vastly cheaper; in fact, the cost is scarcely anything 
except the labor of putting it on. 

A good substitute for Oil Paint. I will here say that Avhere 
the siding of a house is rough, not dressed, or much weather- 
beaten, these cheap paints will last much longer than on 
smooth siding, and it is a very good plan to have the corner 
boards, and the cornice, and the window facing, &c., all 
dressed smooth and use oil paint on them, after you have 
put the cheap paint on the rough siding. You can make 
the oil paint of a diff'erent color from the siding, for instance, 
a cheap yellow or straw color with white trimmings and 
white doors looks very well, or brown with white trimmings, 
or bufl" with white trimmings. 

The following is the method of mixing this cheap paint : 
Take a peck of unslacked lime and use boiling water to slack 
it; cover it during the process to keep in the steam, and 
when it is all Blacked, add to it one-hulf peck of salt, previ- 
ously dissolved in boiling water. Then boil three pounds of 
ground rice to a thin paste and ~stir it in boiling hot. Then 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 37 

take one-half poxrnd of £;lue wliicli has been soaking in water 
all night, and melt it over a slow fire. The glue will readily 
dissolve after soaking, and when it is all dissolved, ponr it 
into 3-our paint and stir all up together, adding water to it, 
Avhich would be better if hot. Put into it enough water to 
make it about the thickness of cream, but do not put it on 
too thick, as it is better to give two or three thin coats than 
one thick one. This mixture, after being stirred well, should 
stand where it will be free from dirt, two or three daj's before 
being used. It is better to put it on hot if you can conveni- 
ently do so. It could be kept hot in a kettle on a portable 
furnace. If you cannot procure the rice ready ground, 3'ou 
can have a few pounds ground at any flouring mill. If it 
should get a little wheat ilour in it, it would do no harm. 
You can lay it on with a whitewash brush or a large paint 
brush, but if you use a paint brush, be sure and do not get 
one that is bound with twine, for if 3- ou do it will come all to 
pieces in using it. You can get a wire bound, or a copper 
bound brush, and that will not be injured. You will have to 
use a small brush to work in the corners and places that you 
cannot get at with 3^our large brush. The color of the paint 
made according to the foregoing recipe is white, but you can 
make it of any shade you may require by observing the 
following directions : If you wish a red or a pink, more or 
less deep, you can put in Spanish brown or Venetian red, 
until you get the shaiie you wish. A delicate tinge of this 
looks very well for inside walls. Finely pulverized common 
clay and Spanish brown stirred into the paint makes a slate 
color, which looks vciy well and is very suitable for the 
outside of buildings. Lampblack mixed with Spanish brown 
or Venetian red, m'akes a bi'ick color. Yellow ochre stirred 
in, makes a yellowish color, more or less deep according to 
the amount used. It is impossible to give the exact propor- 
tions of coloring matter to be put in to make certain shades, 
and the only Avay that you can get the shade you want, will 
be b.y putting in your coloring matter and trying it on a 
shingle or a piece of boaid, letting it dry, and then if it is too 
light, put in more color. 



38 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

Another Cheap Paint. Where this cheap paint is required 
for fences or buildings where cattle will have access to them, 
it is better to mix it without salt in it, and the following 
recipe will be found excellent: Take about two bushels of 
lime and throw hot water on it in a barrel, and cover it over 
so as to keep in the steam until it is slacked ; then dissolve 
one poand of borax in hot water and pour that into it ; then 
put in twelve pounds of brown sugar and one gallon of mo- 
lasses, and six pounds sulphate of zinc dissolved in water; 
then stir all up together with equal quantities of skim milk 
and water. It will not matter if the milk is just beginning to 
sour; but it must not be very sour, as it will not answer the 
purpose so well. You can put any coloring matter in this as 
before directed in the other recipe, and it will make a very 
permanent paint, and will preserve buildings from the weather 
nearly as well as oil paint; and some persons who have tried 
it, think it better than oil paint. 

Another Cheap Paint. A cheap and durable paint may be 
made of the following ingredients, and it will be found to be 
more durable on rough unplaned boards than on smooth 
boards; and is also very useful on brick or stone houses, as 
it wiil resist the action of the weather for years, and can bo 
renewed at a very trifling cost : Take one bushel of unslacked 
lime and slack it with hot water, covering it to keep in the 
steam, and when it is slacked, add the following ingredients, 
— twenty pounds vSpanish whiting; eighteen pounds salt; 
fourteen pounds coarse brown sugar ; and stir all well up with 
about thirty-five gallons of water. Let it stand a day or two 
before using it, and when required for use, it can be stirred 
up Avell, and it is then ready to be laid on. It can be colored 
by using yellow ochre to make it a j-ellow color; or take two 
pounds of copperas, — or which is the same thing, sulphate of 
iron, — and dissolve it in water and pour that into it, and it 
will turn it a yellow color ; and by using a little Yenetian red 
in this yellow, you can make an orange color ; and for a drab, 
you can use raw umber; and for a lead color, you can use 
lampblack — but as it is very difficult to make the lampblack 
mix with this paint, you will have to take some slacked lime 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 39' 

in powder and mix your lampblack and lime together thor- 
oughly, and then pour in a little water and mix it up into a 
paste ; and when you get it well mixed, j'ou can then pour it 
in and sLir all together ; then try the color on a board, 
letting it dr}-; and if not dark enough, put in more lampblack ; 
— for a brown, you can use Venetian red and lampblack 
mixed; and so on with the other colors, as before directed. 
Put on two or three coats of this color and it will last for 
years. 

^4. Cheap Milk Paint. A paint that is very usefal and dur- 
able can be made with skim milk in the following manner : 
Take four ounces of quick lime and slack it by wetting it with 
skim milk, and add to this one and a half pounds Spanish 
whiting; add more milk to make it of the consistence of thick 
paste; then add to this about half a teacupfal of linseed oil, 
dropping in the oil a little at a time, and stirring well together 
until thoroughly incorporated; then pour into it about 
one quart of skim miik, and stir all up, and your paint is then 
ready to use. It will take two or three coats for new wood, 
and about two coats will do for walls and ceilings. Different 
colors can be given to this paint by using the ochres and 
umbers, and Venetian red, &c. If it is required ior line 
work, it can be strained through a coarse cloth. In order to 
make the foregoing paint suitable for outdoor painting, yon 
must use Burgundj^ pitch melted in oil, in the proportion of 
one ounce of pitch to half a teacupfal of the oil. It is best to 
reserve about half of the whiting and then sift it gently on 
the mixture, and that will carry down an}' of the oil which 
might be floating on the top. 

A SUBSTITUTE FOE OIL IN PAINTING. 

Skim milk can be used for inside painting as a substitute 
for oil, and it will answer a very good purpose; and if the 
milk is curded it will answer, but it must not be sour. Grind 
up with milk, yellow ochre for a yellow ; or if your colors are 
well pulvei'ized the}^ will not require grinding, but just mix 
them up in the skim milk until thick enough to cover your 
work slightly. Do not make your paint too thick, or it will 



40 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

be apt to scale off. Two or three thin coats are better than 
thick ones. By using raw umber in the 3'ellow, you can 
make a good buff color; and a little Venetian red to the 
yellow ochre will make an orange. For blue, you can use 
indigo or Prussian blue and wliitmg, or Spanish white; and 
by putting a little Venetian red into your blue, 3-ou can make 
a purp'e color. A-lead color can be made by using Spanish 
white and lampblack. 

Another C/ieap Substitute for Oil in Hou^e Painting. The 
following is a very valuable recipe for making a paint that 
will be found to be, in many respects, equally as good as oil 
paint, and will not cost one tenth part as much as oil paint; 
it can be used for outside painting as well as inside, as it is 
quite waterproof: Take two and a-half ounces of potash and 
put it into two gallons of water, in an iron or brass kettle ; 
then take sLx ounces of beeswax and cut it up into small 
pieces, and put it into the kettle with the potash and water; 
then take two ounces of yellow ochre and three ounces of raw 
senna pulverized very fine, and stir all up together, and boil 
it about two hours; then apply this paint hot, and when one 
coat is dry put on another. It will require about two or three 
coats to look well. It Avill be of a yellowish color; but any 
color can be added to it to change the shade. A little umber 
will make a buff color, which will look very well; Venetian 
red, mixed in the yellow, will make an orange; and so on 
with the other colors, making the shade to suit your taste. 

TO MAKE A VERY ECONOMICAL HOUSE PAINT. 

The cost of the following paint will be a mere trifle, and 
any farmer can make it and paint his own house at his own 
convenience : Take fresh curds and break up the lumps, and 
mix them with an equal quantity of lime, which has been 
slacked with a little water, and stir the curds and lime well 
together, and you will obtain a semi-fluid mass of a white 
color, and this can be used as Ji paint; but it will Jiavc to be 
used the same day that it is prepared, as it will spoil by keep- 
ing it. You can mix any color with it that you may wish. 
Give your work two or throe coats; and when dry it can 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 41 

be polished ^vitll a woolen cloth, and it will appear as if it 
was varnished. You must not use any water in mixing it 
up, as it will spoil its appearance and injure its durability. 

TO MAKE A WATER-PKOOF AND FIRE-PROOF PAINT. 

The following paint vrill be found very useful for the roofs 
of houses, and is said to last longer than common oil paint, 
as it has the advantage of being both water-proof and fire- 
proof: Take unslacked lime and slack it in a barrel with hot 
water, covering it to keep in the steam; then take a fine sieve 
and sift about one gallon of the lime, which will then have 
the appearance of fine flour; to this add three pints of rock 
salt and one and a-half gallons of water; then boil all together 
for about half an hour, and if anj'^ scum arises take the scum 
off clean; then add one pound of alum and three-quarters of 
a pound of copperas, and stir all together; then take three- 
quarters of a pound of potash dissolved in hot water, and add 
this to the mixture, a little at a time, stirring it at the same 
time; then put in one gallon of sand or wood ashes sifted 
very fine. You can then add water to it (if it is too thick) to 
make it about as thick as cream. Give 3-our work two or 
three coats, and color it to suit your taste. This preparation 
is considered (by those who have tried it) to be as durable as 
any paint that can be used; it is an excellent preparation and 
should be universally known as being fire-proof; it would be the 
means of preventing man}^ a house from being burned down ; 
and it is also an excellent preserver of shingles. 

A GOOD BRIGHT BLUE COLOR FOR WALLS. 

Slack lime with hot water so as to make a good whitewash ; 
then for every gallon use one and a-half pounds of blue vitrol 
dissolved in boiling v-ater, and one-quarter pound of glue also 
dissolved in boiling water ; then mix the whole together, and 
la}" on two or three coats. 

TO MAKE TAR PAINTS FOR ROUGH WOOD WORK. 

Clas tar, which can be bought very cheap at the gas works, 
will make an excellent paint by mixing it with dilt'erent 



42 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

colors. It is certainly an excellent preserver of wood, and 
would be more used than it is, if it were not for its black 
color; but this can be modified by using light colors to mix 
with it. For instance, you can take yellow ochre, or Spanish 
brown, or Venetian red, and any of these will improve its 
appearance. It should be applied warm, as that will make it 
work easier, and you must use a large paint brush to lay it 
on with. You can thin it with a little boiled oil, and it will 
improve your paint. It is excellent to paint fences, or grape 
trellises, or frames for hot-beds, as it will drive away all 
insects that might infest your plants. 

TO MAKE AN EXCELLENT CEMENT FOR STOPPING LEAKS 
IN HOG TROUGHS, WATER TROUGHS, &c. 

Take gas tar and mix quick lime with it until it forms a 
putty sufficiently stiff for your purpose. 

Another Cement for Stopping Leahs in Roofs and Round 
Chimneys, &c. This cement will become, in the course of 
time, as hard as stone. Take twenty parts b}^ weight of clean 
sand, two parts of white lead, two parts of litharge and one 
of whiting and mix all into a putty with linseed oil. For 
stopping the seams in roofs, 3'ou can take white lead, oil and 
sand and run it into the seams or cracks, and it will effectu- 
ally stop the leaks. 

Other Uses of Tar Paint. Gas tar made into a paint with 
Spanish brown or yellow ochre, will be found very useful in 
preserving iron frosn rust when exposed to the M^eather, and 
also it is an excellent material to use on fence posts, as it 
will pro vent them rotting and preserve them for years. You 
can smear your posts over with the paint, by la3'ing it on 
thick with a large paint brush on that part of your post which 
is to be buried in the ground, and three or four inches above 
the ground. A good plan is to have your tar paint in a tub 
or barrel, and dip the end of your post into it, and put it 
immediately into the ground ; this will be found, a quicker 
way than using a brush. This paint is also very useful in 
painting over the timbers and joints (that are exposed to the 



EVERY 3IAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 43 

Aveathei") in buildings, as it will exclude Avet better than oil 
paint. This paint can be made a grayish color by using 
Avhite lead in it. 

VAENISHES. 

As it is the object of the writer of this book to make all 
the different recipes as plain and as practical as possible, so 
that an}' person can follow with ease the directions given, 
and as the manufacture of varnishes involves considerable 
expense in obtaining the aparatus necessary to carry it on, 
and as most of the varnishes can be procured at any of the 
paint shops, it will not bo necessary to devote much space in 
this book in giving recipes and directions that would be of 
no practical value to any one except those carrying on the 
business of varnish making, but I will here observe that 
there are some simple varnishes that can easilj^ be made by 
any one, and these I shall give directions for making. The 
different resinous and gummy substances are principally used 
to make varnishes, and these are generally dissolved in some 
vehicle that is capable of dissolving them — for instance, 
spirits of turpentine, alcohol, and different kinds of oil are 
used for this purpose, and latterly benzine or naptha has 
been used by the manufacturers of varnish, as a substitute 
for turpentine, but it does not make as good and durable a 
varnish as turpentine. A varnish, to be really good, should 
be clear and free from all impurities, and should possess 
durability and hardiness. The principal gums and resins 
used in the manufacture of varnish are gum copal, stick lac, 
shellack, gum mastic, gum arable, gum elastic, dragon's 
blood, rosin and gum anima, and all those gums that are free 
from impurities and appear clear and transparent are to be 
preferred. These articles are frequentl}^ adulterated, but it 
is necessaiy, to make a good varnish, that they should be 
procured as pure as possible and as free from foreign sub- 
stances as they can be obtained. 

To make Oil Varnish. Take boiled oil, one gallon, and put 
it into a kettle, and set it on a gentle fire; then put into the 
oil, a little at a time, two pounds of clear rosin, beat up fine, 



44 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

and let it dissolve, and when perfectly dissolved take it from 
the fire, and when nearly cool, pour into it three pints of 
spirits of turpentine, and if too thick, add more turpentine. 
This varnish will be found very useful for common purposes 
where a cheap varnish is required. It preserves wood and 
will not be injured by hot water. 

To make Besin VarnisJt. Melt rosin in a varnish kettle 
and remove it a distance from the fire and pour in, gently 
stirring it at the same time, as much spirits of turpentine as 
will make it thin enough for use. 

.1 Waterproof Varnish for Linen or Cotton can be made by 
taking one pint of linseed oil, four ounces of litharge, and 
one ounce of sugar of lead ; the litharge and sugar of lead 
should bo ground very fine before being put into the oil, and 
when these iugredients are thoroughly incorporated, pour in 
one-half pint of spirits of turpentine, and mix all together; 
it is then fit for use. 

To make a Varnish for Tracing-paper. Transparent tra- 
cing-paper, such as used by painters to take a copy of a print 
or drawing, can be made in the following manner : Take one 
pint of boiled oil and one-half pint of turpentine, and mix 
them together, and with a clean brush, spread it upon clean 
writing paper, and when it is dry it will be quite transparent, 
so that by laj'ing it flat on a print or drawing, every line can 
be distinctly traced. This is an excellent method of copying 
patterns of diiferent kinds. 

Copal Varnish that can he jnade ivithout heat. You must 
procure the very best gum copal for the purpose of making 
this varnish, as it is necessary to have it pure, or else it will 
not dissolve. Then take your copal and beat it up to a very 
fine powder, and sift it through a fine sieve, and put it into a 
glass vessel, only p)utting in a quantity sufficient to cover the 
bottom of the vessel to the depth of about one inch. Then 
pour on essence of roscmar}- enough to cover the copal and 
stir all up together. When it is sufficiently dissolved, let it 
stand for about two or three hours ; then [)our on to it some 
jiure alcohol, a few dv;)ps at a time, shaking it up so as to 
distribute it over the uuxturo in the vessel Keep pouring 



EVERY MAN His OWN HOUSE PAlNTEIti 45 

in the alcohol, a little ivt a time, until you have put in enough 
to make it fit for use. You can then let it stand for a few 
days, and then pour off the clear varnish and keep it for use. 
This varnish will be found very superior for all fine work. 

To make a Colorless Copal Varnish. There are a great 
many combinations of the different materials of which var- 
nishes are composed, that are really of little practical value, 
and almost every varnish manufacturer has some composition 
which he may consider superior to any other, but I shall con- 
fine myself to a description only of those varnishes which 
are easily made, and which have been found by experience 
to be of superior excellence; and it will be well to observe 
here that varnishes of all kinds should be made either in the 
open air or else in some place that is fire-proof, for when 
heat is applied to them, the most of the articles used in the 
manufacture of varnishes are of such an inflammable nature 
that without the greatest care, there is danger of them 
taking fire, and it is always a wise precaution to have read}'- 
at hand a wot blanket to extinguish a flame in case of acci- 
dent. The best kind of vessels to use in making varnish are 
glazed earthen vessels, as these are considered better than 
either copper or iron. I will now give directions for making 
a copal varnish, which is free from color, and is considered 
an excellent varnish. It is suitable for outside work, and 
will retain its lusjtre for a length of time. Take three pounds 
of the best gum copal and melt it in a clean varnish kettle, 
over a clear fire. The kettle should not be more than three 
parts full, and particular care should be taken not to burn it. 
When your copal is sufficiently melted, then pour into it two 
and-a-half pints of bleached linseed oil which has been made 
hot in another vessel ; stir this mixture well together, and 
when these materials are properly incc-rporated, take the 
kettle from the fire and keep stirring it until it begins to 
cool. Then add, gradually, four pints of spirits of turpen- 
tine. If this much tui^pentine should make it too thin, do 
not put in so much, and if not thin enough, put in a little 
more until your varnish is in a proper state for use. 

N. B, This varnish can be improved by putting into it 



46 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

about seven or eight grains of corrosive sublimate. G-rind 
the sublimate on a slab with a little oil, and mix with the 
spirits of turpentine, and pour it into the varnish, stirring 
all up well until thoroughly incorporated. The varnish is 
then ready for use, but will improve by age. 

To make Mastic Varnish for Varnishing Maps and Fictures. 
Take about three ounces of pure gum mastic, reduce it to a 
line powder and put it into a glass bottle. Then pour upon 
it one pint of spirits of turpentine, and set it in a w-arm 
place or else in the sun, and shake it up frequently, and in a 
few days it will be all dissolved. It is then ready for use, 
and in order to prepare prints or drawings for this varnish, 
you must give them one coat of thin size, made by dissolving 
a little isinglass in water, and when quite dry the varnish 
can be applied with a clean varnish brush; and if one coat of 
varnish does not make it shine enough, you can put on tv/o 
or three. 

Another Varnish for Maps or Fictures. A very good 
varnish for maps or joictures can bo made in the following 
manner : Take one and a half ounces of Canada balsam and 
three ounces of spirits of turpentine, and mix them together 
in a glass bottle, and when the balsam is all dissolve i in the 
turpentine it is fit for use. But before applying it to the 
maps or pictures, they must first be covered with a size made 
with isinglass in water, and when this is quite dry, the var- 
nish can be laid on with a camels' hair brush. This varnish, 
when properly applied, will give to colored pictures the aj)- 
pearance of oil paintings. 

Another Varnish for Fictures and Drawings can be made by 
mixing the white of eggs with loaf sugar, then pour in some 
lime water until it is of a proper consistency for varnishing. 
Two or three coats can be laid on. 

To make Gum Elastic Varnish. Take one pound of gum 
elastic and cut it into small pieces, and put it into a vessel 
containing one pint of linseed oil. The oil must be boiling 
hot when the gum elastic is put into it, and it must be placed 
on the fire again and kept boiling until the mixture appears 
clear, and when it is taken from the fire and begins to cool, 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 47 

you can pour into it one pint of spirits of turpentine, stirring 
all together, and when quite cool it must be strained for use. 
This varnish dries very slowly, and on that account is not 
much used. 

To Bleach Oil for making colorless Varnish and other pur- 
poses. Take a shallow vessel that will hold about two or 
three gallons, or as much oil as you may Avish to bleach, and 
cover the bottom of your vessel with white lead to the depth 
of about four or five inches : then pour on to this your lin- 
seed oil and expose it to the rays of the sun for several days, 
or until it becomes fat and colorless, it will then be fit for 
usg. The vessel in which you bleach your oil must Ite 
covered with glass, to keep out the dust and to admit the 
ra3'8 of the sun. French yellow is frequentl}^ employed in 
place of white lead, and is considered to be more powerful 
in its bleaching qualities. It is used in the same manner as 
the white lead. 

To make Shellac Varnish for covering the knots in pine wood. 
Previous to painting, the knots in pine wood should be cov- 
ered with a preparation, called by painters knotting. Vari- 
ous materials are used for this purpose, and shellac varnish 
made according to the directions here given, is found to be 
as good a material as can be used. Take the best shellac 
finely powdered, two ounces, and dissolve it in one pint of 
the best rectified spirit of wine; it can be dissolved without 
heat if the alcohol is strong enough, by putting it into a 
glass bottle and shaking it frequently. 

To make a Black Varnish, vsed for grates and to cover iron 
work. Melt in an iron kettle over a slow fire, four pounds of 
asphaltum, and when properly melted, pour into it by slow 
degrees, one and a half pints of boiled linseed oil; stir 
all together until thoroughly incorporated, then remove it 
from the fire, and when nearly cold pour into it three pints 
of spirits of turpentine, and if this should not be enough 
turpentine to make it thin enough for use, you can put in 
more until it can be woi^ied easy. 

To make Black Japan Varnish. The following directions 
given for making black Japan varnish will be found very 



48 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

useful to those who want to make a varnish that is suitable 
for leather : Take four ounces of asphaltum and melt it in 
an iron kettle ; then pour into it five pints of boiled linseed 
oil, and when these materials are thoroughly incorporated, 
put into the mixture five ounces of burnt umber in poAvder, 
stirring all together; then add suflicient of spirits of turpen- 
tine to make the varnish of a pjroper consistence. 

IST. B. Eemove the vessel from the fire and let the materials 
cool before putting in the spirits of turpentine. 

To Jiiake Copal Varnish icith Alcohol. Take two ounces of 
gum copal and reduce it to a fine powder; take also three- 
fourths of an ounce of shellac, which must likewise •be 
reduced to a tine powder; put both of these materials mixed 
together into a bottle, and pour upon them three pints of 
alcohol; place the mixture in a warm place and shake it 
occasionally until the gums are completely dissolved, after- 
wards strain it for use. 

There are a variety of ways in which copal varnish can be 
made, but the recipe given above will be found both simple 
and easy, and where a spirit varnish is required it will 
answer for all common purposes, I will here reiterate what 
I have already said with regard to the great danger that 
there is in making varnishes, where heat is to be applied, as 
the materials used are so liable to take fire, unless the greatest 
caution is observed. A very good plan is to use what is 
called a sand-bath, that is, one vessel containing sand is 
placed upon the fire, and the vessel containing the varnish is 
placed inside the one containing the sand, so that the sand 
may surround it, and by that means the heat is more uni- 
form. A water bath is the proper heat for spirit varnishes. 
The varnishes prepared w^ith oils are considered much better 
in many respects than those that are called spirit varnishes. 
The oil varnishes are more suitable for any kind of work 
which has to be exposed to the weather — they are more 
durable and elastic and are less liable to crack; but spirit 
varnishes, when well prepared and made of good materials 
are very brilliant, and may be Used for furniture, or any 
work that is to be kept within doors. Varnishes of all kinds 



EVERY MAN HIS O^VN HOUSE PAINTER. 49 

should be kept in vessels that the light cannot penetrate, as 
it will frequently have an injurious effect on varnish, render- 
ing it thick and unfit for use. 

TO VAENISH FURNITURE. 

If you have much varnishing to do you had better pur- 
chase a varnish pan, which can be had at any color shgp. 
They are made of different shapes and sizes; some with a 
false bottom and the space between the bottoms filled with 
sand. This makes it convenient in cool weather, as the sand 
being heated by placing it on a stove or over a fire, keeps the 
varnish warm and causes it to flow more readily from the 
brush. A good soft varnish brush is also another article 
required to do a good job of varnishing. If the furniture 
that you are going to varnish is old, it will have to be well 
cleaned by washing it with soap and water, so as to remove 
every particle of dirt and grease, and when it is quite dry 
it can be rubbed over with sand-paper, so as to make the 
surface as smooth as possible. When this is done, you can 
proceed to varnishing, and it ought to be done in a warm 
room or else in warm weather, so that the varnish may flow 
evenly on the sux-face of j^our work. If the varnish should 
be too thick, it can be made thinner with spirits of turpen- 
tine. You can use either copal varnish or else furniture var- 
nish, which you can purchase at the color shops ; and any 
pei'son, by following the directions here given, can varnish 
their own furniture, making it appear as good as new. It is 
necessary to be careful and not get any dust on newly var- 
nished furniture, and also to see that your varnish brush is 
perfectly clean and free from loose hairs ; and it is a very 
good plan to have a piece of wire stretched across your var- 
nish pan to clean your brush on, and be careful not to take 
too much varnish in your brush at one time. Lay on your 
varnish as regular and even as you can. By a little practice 
you can soon acquire a good use of the brush. If you wish 
to get a good body of varnish on j^our furniture, you can put 
on two or three coats, letting each coat get perfectly dry 
before putting on another ; and it is as well to rub each coat 
—4 



50 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

down by taking a piece of woolen cloth and a little pumice- 
stone in fine powder, and make the cloth wet by dipping it 
into water and squeezing it out as dry as you can, and then 
sprinkling on a little of the powdered pumice-stone, and rub 
your varnish over when it is perfectly dry, but be careful 
that you do not rub through the varnish. By a little prac 
tioe any one can avoid this, as a very slight rubbing is suffi- 
cient until you get sufficient body of varnish to work upon ; 
but in varnishing furniture where a considerable degree of 
polish is not required, this rubbing down with pumice-stone 
can be dispensed with. 

To Varnish new Furniture. In varnishing new furniture 
you must first examine it to see if there are any cracks or 
nail holes, and if there are they must be stopped with putty, 
made with a little oil, mixed with whiting and a little Vene- 
tian red put in until you get the color of jomy furniture. If 
this should make your putty too red, you can use a little 
umber mixed in it until you get the shade required. When 
all the nail holes and cracks have been stopped, jo\\ can (if you 
wish to economize in the use of varnish) give your furniture 
a coat of boiled oil, which is much cheaper than varnish, and 
it will answer for the first coat equally as well. It is the 
custom of some varnishers to use a thin coat of sizing for 
the first coat, and this sizing is made by dissolving a little 
glue in water. When your first coat is quite dry, you can 
then proceed to laying on your varnish, which you can do 
according to the directions given for varnishing old furni- 
ture. To give a good gloss, two or three coats will be 
required. 

TO POLISH FURNITUKE WITH WAX. 

Furniture can be polished with wax, so as in some degree 
to resemble varnish, but it does not possess the brilliancy of 
good varnish ; still, the ease with which it can be applied to 
furniture, and the cheapness of the material, will always 
render it a favorite process with house-keepers. Melt bees- 
wax over a clear fire, and when melted remove it to a dis- 
tance from the fire, and pour into it enough spirits of turpen- 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 51 

tine to make it of the consistence of thick paste. When 
used you can spread a little on a woolen rag and rub on your 
furniture and polish with a woolen cloth. Several applica- 
tions of this furniture paste will give a good gloss. 

TO TAKE INK-SPOTS, &c., OUT OF FUENITUKE. 

The spots in furniture should all he removed before var- 
nishing, and this can be done by using spirits of salt diluted 
Avith a little water, using a piece of rag to rub it on, and as 
soon as the spots disappear wash off with clear water and 
rub dry; or a little oxalic acid and butter of antimony, dis- 
solved in a small quantity of water. The best way of using 
these washes, is to tie a piece of rag on a stick, and this can 
be used to rub the spots so that the fingers will not get wet 
with the compound, as it is poisonous. 

TO MAKE PASTE FOK POLISHING FUENITURE. 

Take one ounce of beesAvax and scrape it up in a tin cup 
or basiu; and add to it two teaspoonsful of powdered resin. 
Melt the two together and put into it as much Venetian red 
as will color it, and w'hen all is melted and thoroughly mixed 
together, remove it from the fire and pour into it as much 
spirits of turpentine as wall make it of the consistence of 
thick paste ; rub this paste on with a woolen rag and polish 
by rubbing with a woolen cloth. 

TO STAIN WOOD DIFFERENT COLORS. 

There are a great many different methods of staining 
wood, as practiced by painters, and as it is getting to be very 
much in the fashion to stain wood of some dark color, instead 
of painting it, I will here describe several different processes : 
A very simple and expeditious way of staining wood is to 
mix the colors in benzine or naptha, and rub them on with a 
rag or brush. 

To Stain pine wood a Light Bed. Take Venetian red and 
pour on benzine, making it quite thin, then with a brush rub 
over your wood to be stained, and when it has dried in, 



52 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

which will be in about half an hour^ rub over the surface 
with a cloth and that will remove the color that has not 
penetrated into the wood; and if it has not color enough, 
put on another coat and rub oif again. "W^hen this is done 
you can varnish it over first with boiled oil and then two or 
three coats of good varnish. 

To Stain a Walnut Color. Proceed as directed for the red 
stain, but put into your Venetian red a little burnt umber, 
until you get the color you wish. 

To make an Oak-Colored Stain. Melt about four ounces 
of asphaltum and one tablespoonful of boiled linseed oil, and 
when this is thoroughly mixed remove it from the fire, and 
when it has cooled a little pour into it enough spirits of tur- 
pentine to make it thin enough for use ; this can be laid on 
with a brush in the same way as directed for the other 
stains. 

Another method of Staining Wood Red. Take dragons' blood 
and dissolve it in alcohol; the proportions to be used are one 
and a half ounces to a pint of alcohol. This will make a 
good red stain by being brushed over the wood, and when 
dry, vai-nishing. 

A good Black Stain for Chairs, d^c. Take some pieces of 
iron and immerse trhem in strong vinegar, and add a tea- 
spoonful of verdigris to every quart of vinegar, letting 
it stand several daj-s. This will make a good black stain. 

To Stain in Imitation of Mahogany. Boil three-quarters of 
a pound of madder-root in one gallon of water for two hours, 
and apply it boiling hot to the wood, repeating the applica- 
tion until the proper color is obtained. By passing a brush 
dipped in the black stain over this red stain, in imitation of 
the dark grain of mahogany, will produce a very good effect. 

Another good Mahogany Stain. To make this stain you 
must dissolve dragons' blood in alcohol, and put into it some 
fustic chips, and let the mixture stand in a warm place for 
several days, then strain for use. Make the dark grain as 
directed in the other mahogany stain. 

To Stain in Imitation of Rosewood. Use the red stain 
made as before directed with di-agons' blood, dissolved in 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 53 

alcohol, and when you have stained your wood w^ith this, 
then take a flat bi*ush and cut out some of the hairs, so that 
it will make broad and narrow sti'ipes, and dip this brush 
into the black stain and go over your wood with this, and it 
will produce the appearance of rosewood, which, when var- 
nished, will be diflicult to distingush from the real wood. 

To Stain Wood Yellow. Turmeric-root digested in alcohol 
for several days will give a yellow^ stain to wood. 

Another Yellow Stain may be made by grinding chrome 
yelloAV very fine in benzine, and thinning it with benzine and 
brushing it over the wood. By varying the different stains 
a great variety of valuable woods can be imitated with 
success. 

Another Oak Stain can be made by mixing raw umber in 
benzine and laying it on with a brush. All these stains will 
have a dull, dead appearance, until varnished. They should 
receive several coats of varnish, Avhich Avill improve their 
appearance very n^uch. 

Another good Rosewood Stain. Take one-quarter pound of 
extract of logwood, and boil it in two pints of Avater until 
a dark red stain is obtained ; then add about a teaspoonful 
of salt of tartar, and then stain your wood, laying it on with 
a brush boiling hot, giving it two or three coats of the stain. 
Let each coat dr}^ before the other is applied. When dry 
take one ounce of sulphate of iron dissolved in a pint of hot 
watei', and with a flat, stiif brush, which is made, irrcgalar by 
cutting the points of the hairs off, so as to make broad and 
narrow veins, go over j-our red stain, and this will make the 
imitation of the dark veins in rosewood. 

Another good dark Stain may be made by boiling common 
liquorice to a strong syrup, and before laying it on go over 
your wood wuth one ounce of sulphuric acid in a pint of 
Avarm water, and when that is dry apply your stain boiling 
hot, and if not dark enough go over it again until the desired 
shade is obtained ; when this is quite dry you can varnish 
it over and it will have a beautiful appearance. 



54 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

TO MAKE A CHEAP YAENISl^ FOE STAINED WOOD. 

Take cue quart of boiled oil and lieat it in a vessel over 
the fire, and when it is quite hot put into it one pound of 
beeswax cut into thin shavings, and stir all together until it 
is all melted and thoroughly incorporated with the oil ; then 
take it off the fire, and when it begins to cool pour into it as 
much spirits of turpentine as will make it of a jiroper con- 
sistence for varnishing. This is an excellent varnish for the 
first coat. 

TO MAKE CHEAP PAINTS WITH COAL OIL. 

Coal oil or kerosene, may be used for house painting, and 
it will be found to come much cheaper than using all linseed 
oil ; but it must be understood, that as it is a volatile oil, it 
will soon evaporate from the paint, and by using a small 
quantity of boiled linseed oil to bind the color, it will make a 
very lasting paint, and is particularly useful and economi- 
cal as a first coat for rough or weather-beaten siding. 

To make a Red Faint with Goal Oil. To four gallons of 
coal oil add one gallon of boiled linseed oil — if you cannot 
get the boiled oil you can use some Japan dries — about one 
pint of the di'iers to a gallon of the mixture, and stir all 
together. Litharge will answer for driers, and is as good as 
the Japan driers ; it will require about one-quarter of a 
pound to every gallon of the mixture. In order to make a 
red paint with this oil, you can use Venetian red, putting in 
enough of the red (in powder) to make it about tlie consist- 
ence of cream ; it may take about three or four pounds to 
the gallon. If you should require a dark red you can put in 
some lampblack, until you get the shade required. 

To make a cheap Gray Paint with Coal Oil. Mix coal and 
linseed oil as directed in the foregoing recipe; then take 
hydraulic cement in powder, and if it is too coarse for use 
you must grind it in oil in a paint mill, and for every two 
pounds of this cement, take one-half a pound of white lead 
and mix all together to a proper consistence for painting. 
This will be found a cheap and durable paint and will make a 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 55 

hard surface. By putting on two or three coats it will resist 
the action of the weather for a long time. 

To make a Buff Paint with Coal Oil. Take yellow ochre 
and mix in the grey paint, made as directed in the foregoing- 
recipe, until you get the shade required. 

To make a Yelloio Paint with Coal Oil. Use yellow ochre, 
and chrome j'ellow, and white lead mixed with the oil as 
directed in the foregoing recipe. 

To make a Drab, use raw umber. 

To make a Brown, use burnt umber. • 

To make a White Paint ivith Coal Oil. Take white lead 
and mix it in the oil, prepared as directed in the recipe " To 
make a Eed Paint with Coal Oil." 

TO GRAIN IN IMITxiTION OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF WOOD. 

Oak graining is very much pi\acticed by painters at the 
present time, and on account of its durability it is generally 
preferred for outside work. A, pleasing variety may be 2>ro- 
duced by observing and imitating the different shades and 
grain of the natural wood. There are a great variety of 
combs, blenders, over-drainers, &c., used by some painters in 
graining oak and other kinds of wood. But these, or so 
many of them, are quite unnecessary in doing a good job of 
graining, for I have seen painters that could do an excel- 
lent job of graining with three or four leather combs — 
that any one can make — a piece of old cotton rag, a small 
camel hair pencil, and a worn out paint brush to lay on 
the graining mixture with. Of course it requires practice 
and skill to become a good grainer, that is, to imitate to 
perfection the knots and the light parts in the natural wood ; 
but any one who has never tried graining before, can do 
a plain job with the greatest ease, by following the directions 
here given, and by a little practice the}^ can soon learn to 
take out the lights. 

There are a great variety of methods practiced by 2)ainters 
in preparing the ground-work, and mixing what is called the 
megilp or grainers' cream ; but I shall confine myself to the 



56 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

easiest and most simple processes; as I am satisfied, after 
more than twenty years' experience, that the most simple 
processes are the best and most durable and economical. 

To prepare the ground-work for Oak Graining. Take white 
lead and put into it enough of yellow ochre and chrome yel- 
low to stain it a very light buff color ; mix up with boiled 
oil so as to make it of the proper consistence to paint with. 
Give jT^our work about three coats and rub down with sand- 
paper, so as to get a smooth surface to work on. "When the 
ground-work is quite* dry, joii can mix your graining color 
in the following manner : 

To make Graining Color for Oak, take one pint of boiled 
linseed oil, and put into it an ounce of beeswax, cut into thin 
shavings, and heat the mixture over a clear fire, stirring it 
until the whole is thoroughly incorporated together; then 
take it off the fire and let it cool, and when cool put into it 
one ounce of whiting ; then, when you have thoroughl}- 
mixed these ingredients together, that is, the oil, beeswax 
and whiting, your painters' cveam or megilp is prepared and 
ready for use, and when you want to use it in graining oak, 
you must grind burnt umber and raw sienna in boiled oil, (be 
sure and grind very fine or your work will look coarse,) and 
color 5'our megilp with these paints, using about equal C|uan- 
tities of each. You must then try a little of it to see if you 
have made it dark enough, if not, put in more umber until 
you get it to the right shade. If you have a piece of oak 
plank dressed and varnished, it will be a good guide to j'ou 
as to color and grain. This graining color should dry in 
about three hours, and it may be that you will have to put 
into it a little Japan driers, and if it should require thinning, 
3'ou must nse turpentine until you get it to the proper con- 
sistence, which should be about like common varnish. When 
you lay on this graining color you must use a very stiff paint 
brush and lay it on veiy tliin. A good brush for this pur- 
pose is a worn out paint brunh. 

To make the Combs for Graining Oak. Your coml)s for 
graining must be of various sizes. The coarse combs 3'ou 
can make by cutting them out of pieces of strong sole 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 57 

leather ; cut it thin on one edge and then cut notches in it 
like the teeth of a saw. Yon can make several of these 
combs" of different degrees of fineness. If you have much 
graining to do, it would be as well to buy a set of steel grain- 
ing combs. The^e combs are from one to six inches wide ; 
some coarse, some fine, and extra fine. When you have laid 
on your graining color evenly and thinly on jonr work, then 
take your coarse comb, and holding it firmly, press it on the 
color and draw it down, making the grain wavy or straight, 
as you may fancy ; then wipe the color from your comb 
before 3'ou lay it on again, and proceed as before. When 
you have gone over your work with the coarse comb, you 
can then take a fine one and go over it again, making a 
tremulous motion with the hand and bearing harder in some 
parts than others. The finest combs are then to be used to 
rei^resent the grain nearest the heart of the tree. The wqrk 
as it now stands represents plain oak graining. If you wish 
to take out the lights so as to represent the knots and light 
places observed in the real oak, you must proceed as follows : 
Take a piece of waeh leather and wrap it once over your 
thumb, and with your nail covered by the wash leather you 
can wipe ofl:' the graining color, so as to leave light places 
in imitation of the real wood. When your work is quite 
dry, you can shade it so as to represent the dark and light 
shades seen in the real wood. This can be done by using 
some of your graining color made quite thin with spirits of 
turpentine, and taking a large brush glaze it over, running 
with the grain, making broad transparent streaks in some 
places, and in others leaving it light and without any glaze. 
This work is improved by varnishing, but some painters do 
not varnish it, but leave it at this stage and call it finished. 
If it is outside work you must use the best coach or copal 
varnish. When you have finished your work, clean your 
combs and brushes from the color. Do not let it dry on the 
teeth of your combs, as it will clog them and render them 
unfit for use again. This kind of graining is the most per- 
manent and durable for outside work, but some painters 
grain in what is called Distemper Color, that is, by using the 



58 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

graining color mixed and ground in beer or ale, and this kind 
of graining must have two or three coats of varnish over it 
to bring out the color. 

To make a good Graining Cream for Oak Graining. Color 
3"0ur ground-work a light buff color, by using a little raw 
umber and chrome yellow to stain the white lead with, and 
when you have given your w^ork two or three coats of this 
color and rubbed it smooth with sand-paper, you can then 
use a graining color made in the following manner: Take 
beeswax and melt it over a clear fire, and when melted 
remove it a distance from the fire, and pour into it enough 
of spirits of turpentine to make it as thick as paste ; then 
put two tablespoonsful of this prepared wax into a pint of 
the following color : grind two ounces of sugar of lead, two 
ounces terra senna, one ounce of burnt umber and two 
ounces of whiting; all these ingredients must be ground 
together very fine, and mixed with enough oil and spirits of 
turpentine to make it thin enough to work easy. This color 
can be laid on as before directed for graining oak. 

To grain Oak in Distemper Color, the ground-work is to be 
colored as before directed, of a light buff color, by using raw 
umber and chrome yellow in white lead. When this ground- 
woi'k is quite dry and rubbed smooth with sand-paper, you 
can mix your distemper color in the following manner : take 
Vandyke brown, burnt umber and raw terra senna, about 
equal quantities of each, and grind them together in a little 
beer or ale, or a little sugar and water. When you have 
ground these colors together quite fine, you can take your 
color off the paint-stone upon which you have ground 
it, and lay it on a piece of window glass or on a palette 
board; then take a coarse brush, quite clean, and dip it into 
the beer and rub up your paint on the board wath it ; then 
take your brush and go over your work in a wavy manner 
80 as to produce the appearance of the grain in oak, and, 
before it dries, take a dry, clean flogger, or painters' dust 
brush will answer, and strike it lightly with the points of the 
bristles across the grain. When this is done you can take 
out the lights with a piece of damp wash leather, by draw- 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 59 

ing it tight over your thumb and using your thumb nail ; or 
you can use a piece of cork cut to a point. When it is quite 
dr}^ you can put in the imitation of dark veins crossing the 
gi'ain, and this is to be done with a camel hair pencil filled 
wnth umber ground in beer. It will be as well not to try to 
do too much of this kind of graining at once, as it dries very 
fast, and when dry you cannot work it, as it becomes set. 
Some painters use a little soap in their distemper coler to 
prevent it drying so fast, and some brush the work over with 
soap-suds before commencing to grain ; but this plan is con- 
sidered objectionable, as it clogs the flogger and is liable to 
injure the work. There are other methods of graining, but 
it is not necessary to go into any long explanation of them 
in this book, as they have all been superceded by the supe- 
rior methods first described of oil graining. An old style of 
graining which used to be practiced years ago, was to lay the 
graining color on very thickly, and take ovit the lights by 
going over it with dilute muriatic acid, then striking it over 
with the duster, and the parts touched with the muriatic acid 
would come off. Another method was to mix your graining 
color with gum arable, or glue in water, and when this is 
laid on the work and quite dry, the lights were taken out by 
taking a camel hair pencil and dipping it in clean water, 
going over the places where you wish to take out the lights, 
and then taking a duster and striking it smartly, it will beat 
out the color where you have wet it with the water. 

As this work is designed to be a practical work, 1 shall 
confine mj^self to such methods of working as are in common 
use, and such as can be practiced by any person in any part 
of the country; and I would here say, that the best method 
for a beginner to undertake to learn to grain, would be to 
have a piece of plank smoothly dressed and paint it over 
with two or three coats of ground color, and then he can 
practice on that and afterwards wipe it out and try again, 
according to the directions given in this book ; and by 
practicing in this manner a person can soon become quite 
an expert at it and be able to do a very good job of graining. 
It is also a very good plan to have a piece of the kind of 



60 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

wood you wish to imitate dressed and varnished, (so as to 
bring out the grain,) and have this to copy from, as the great 
perfection in the art of graining is to imitate nature exactly 
so that the imitation may exactly resemble the real wood. 
I will here describe 

A very simple and easy method of making a Graining Color 
for Oak. The ground color can be prepared with chrome 
yellow and raw umber in white lead as before recommended, 
and when your ground is dry and rubbed smooth with sand- 
paper, you can prepare your graining color in the following 
manner : Take one pint of raw linseed oil and put into it 
one-fourth part of copal varnish and about three tablespoons- 
ful of turpentine ; then melt two ounces of Castile soap, or 
common brown soap will answer, if you cannot get Castile, 
and when it is melted stir into it a little raw linseed oil; 
then mix ail your ingredients together and 3'ou will 
have a good graining cream, or as painters call it, a megilp ; 
this you will have to color with burnt umber and raw sieana, 
ground very fine in oJl ; it is then ready to be laid on 3'our 
ground work, and if it dries too quick you must put in more 
oil ; it should be made to dry iu about two or three hours. 
The same process for laying it on and graining, as described 
in another portion of this book, is applicable to this also. 
As these directions are intended for learners and those per- 
sons who have no experience in the art of graining, I will, 
in order to make it as plain as possible, recapituhiLe what 
will be required in this kind of graining. 

Fii'st: For the ground- work — white lead, chrome yellow, 
raw umber. Second: For the graining color — raw linseed 
oil, copal varnish, turpentine, Castile soap, colored with 
burnt umber and raw senna. 

Tools required for graining are — First: a stitf brush to 
lay on your graining color. Second : a few leather combs, 
coarse and fine. Third: a piece of old cotton cloth or wash 
leather to wipe out the lights. 

These few simple tools are all that will be required to do a 
fair job of graining, but of course where a person intends 
following the business, more tools and a greater variety will 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 61 

be required ; but I have seen some of the best grainers use 
only a few simple tools and turn off very good work. All 
kinds of graining that is exposed to the weather will fade 
and look dull and dead after a year or two, but it can be 
restored and made to look as well as new, by cleaning it and 
then varnishing it over again. 

To grain in Imitation of Mahogany. This kind of graining 
is mostly all done in distemper, as it produces a softer appear- 
ance than in oil. I will here descx'ibe the different methods 
now followed by the best grainers : 

To Prepare the Ground-work for Mahogany. Take white 
lead, chrome yellow and red lead, and mix in boiled oil until 
you get an orange color with this color ; you must go over 
your work three coats and rub down smooth with sand-paper. 
When you have your ground-work quite dry, you can then 
proceed to laying on the graining color, which must be pre- 
pared in the following manner : Take equal portions of raw 
and burnt terra sienna, and grind them very fine in ale or 
beer, or a little sugar and water, or honey and water, just 
sufficient to cause the color to adhere, so that the varnishing 
will not rub it off. This color when you have ground it, will 
be thick, like a paste ; you can put it on a palette or a piece 
of window glass, and t"ke a clean paint brush that has been 
well worn and dip it in water, and work up j'our paint, and 
lay it evenly upon the work you are going to grain. If it is 
a door you are going to grain, you must commence with the 
panels first, and you will find it work easier, by taking first 
of all, before you lay on your color, a clean, wet rag, and 
wiping over your work, so as to remove any greasy matter 
on the surface. When you have spread your graining color 
evenly over the surface, you can then take some clean water 
and a piece of sponge, and wetting the sponge and wringing 
it out, you can then commence to take out the lights in imita- 
tion of the mottle in mahogan}', and before it gets dry take 
3'our blender and soften your work, by brushing it lightly 
over, just touching it with the points of the hair. Yv'hen 
you have softened it sufiSciently you can then use an over- 
grainer, but not until it is quite dry ; the object in using the 



62 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

over-graiuer is to put in the coarser veins seen in mahogany, 
and is done by using some of your graining color rubbed up 
in water, and laying it on with a flat brush, called by painters 
an over-grainer. When this is done your work is finished, 
and when perfectly dry it can be varnished, and all distemper 
graining should have at least two coats of copal or coach 
varnish. 

In graining a door, the panels must be grained first, and do 
not spread your color on more than one or two panels at a 
time, or else it will dry before you can grain it; and when the 
panels are all finished you can proceed with the stiles, and if 
you have run over onto the stiles in graining your panels, 
you must wipe it off with a wet sponge. In order to make 
this operation more plain to a learner, I will here recapitulate 
what will be required. First : — your ground, composed of 
white lead, chrome yellow, red lead — in oil. Second : — your 
graining color, as follows : raw sienna, burnt sienna — in beer. 

Third : — jonr tools ; which consist of — a brush for graining 
color ; a blender ; an over-grainer ; a piece of sponge. 

Another Mahogany. The colors used in graining mahogany 
can be so varied as to produce an appearance of dark mahog- 
any and light mahogany. 

To make a Light Mahogany. You can use, for the ground- 
work, a mixture of chrome yellow and red lead, and when you 
have laid on two or three coats of this color, and rubbed it 
down smooth, you can then mix your graining color, which is 
made of Vandyke brown and raw terra sienna, about equal 
quantities of each, ground fine in beer, and laid on as before 
directed. The ground for this mahogany should be a light 
orange color. 

To make a very rich looking Mahogany. Mix, for your ground 
color, Vermillion and chrome j^ellow, so as to let the yellow 
predominate a little. After your ground is quite dry, and 
rubbed smooth, mix your graining color, which should consist 
of burnt umber, raw sienna and crimson lake, an equal portion 
of each, very finely ground in beer or ale. Spread a thick coat 
of this graining color on your panel ; then, with the wet or 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 63 

damp sponge, proceed to take out the lights, and then soften 
it with the blender. 

iS[. B. — A wet quill feather will be found very useful in 
taking out the lights, to be used, (after the sponge has been 
used,) in breaking up any large dark patches. After this is 
quite dry, yor can use the over-grainer m imitation of the fine 
dark veins which you will perceive on examining the natural 
wood. This mahogany has a beautiful appearance when var- 
nished. 

To imitate BoseiooocL The ground color must be made by 
using Venetian rod and a very small quantity of lampblack ; 
just enough lampblack to deaden the color of the Venetian red 
a little. These colors must be mixed in boiled oil, and two or 
three coats of this color, well rubbed down, w^ill make a very 
good ground for rosewood graining; and when your ground 
color is quite dry you can then proceed to laying on your 
graining color, which must be mixed in the following manner : 
Take lampblack and burnt umber, about equal parts of each, 
and grind them together on a paint stone, with a little beer or 
ale. Thej^ must be ground very fine, and when this is done 
you can take a flat brush and cut away some of the bristles at 
unec[ual distances, and you will then have a good tool for 
graining rosewood. You can then take up j^our graining 
color with this tool, and la}^ it on your ground work in imitation 
of the natural wood. In some places the veins will have to 
be straight, and in other places wending round, forming the 
appearance of knots. When this is quite dry you can varnish 
it with two or three coats of copal or coach varnish. 

Another imitation of Rosewood. This imitation can be made 
by mixing a color nearly approaching to a chocolate color for 
the ground work, and this shade can be obtained by mixing 
Venetian red and lampblack as directed before, but the pro- 
portion of lampblack must be greater to give it a darker shade. 
When your work has received two or three coats of this ground 
color, you can proceed to graining, and your graining color 
must be lampblack ground in ale er beer, and this can be laid 
on with the graining tool before described, and by using a 
blender, or as it is sometimes called, a softener, and by touch- 



64 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

ing it lightly before it dries, you can give your work a more 
natural appearance. When this is quite dry you can varnish 
as before directed. 

To grain chairs in imitation of Rosewood. Paint your chairs 
with a ground color made by mixing lampblack with Japan 
varnish and a little linseed oil, and when they have received 
two or three coats of this ground color, and have become 
quite dry, they can then be grained by using for the graining 
color, Venetian red finely ground in ale or beer ; and to lay it 
on you can iise a small Hat brush out of which some of the 
bristles have been cut at unequal distances, and with this tool, 
dipped in your graining color, you can draw it over your black 
ground, forming the imitation of the natural veins observed 
in rosewood. This imitation, when quite dry, has to be var- 
varnished with copal or coach varnish to which a reddish 
tinge has been given with rose-pink. 

To grain Rosewood in Size. Eosewood can be grained in 
size, but this method of graining cannot be recommended for 
permanence and durability, as it will be liable to crack and 
scale off after a short time. But as it may be useful in some 
cases to know how to do work of this description, I will here 
give directions for this kind of graining. First, the ground 
work has to be laid on, and this has to be made by grinding 
together in size, Yenetian red and a small quantit}' of Vermil- 
lion, and mixing it in glue size so that when it is cold it may 
have the appearance of a weak trembling jelly. Your woi'k will 
have to receive two coats of this paint, and when your ground is 
quite dry 3'ou can mix your graining color by grinding burnt 
umber and lampblack, about equal quantities of each, to be 
ground verj' fine in some of the size used for the groundwork. 
Then take a flat brush out of which some of the hairs have been 
cut, at unequal distances, and with this brush dipped in your 
graining color, proceed to put on the grain in imitation of the 
natural wood. When this is quite dry you can varnish it 
with any kind of clear varnish, but in order to give }■ our work 
a more natural appearance you can stain your varnish with a 
little rose-pink. 

To Imitate Satin Wood. The ground color for this is made 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 65 

b}' mixing chrome yellow and white lead in linseed oil, and 
using a little di-iers if your oil is not boiled ; and when you 
have given your work two or three coats of this color, and 
rubbed it down very smooth, you can mix'j'our graining 
color in the following manner : Take raw terra sienna and 
grind it very fine in a little ale or beer, and then lay it on 
your work very thin, and then before it gets dry take 
a damp sponge and mottle it, by rolling the damp sponge 
gently and lightly over it; then take your blender and soften 
it by touching it lightly, and when this is drj' take an over- 
grainerand put on the top grain in a wavy manner, imitating 
the grain of the natural wood, and when this is quite dry it 
can then be varnished and it will have a beautiful appearance. 

Another iSdtln Wood. The ground-work for this is made 
by grinding chrome 3'ellow, white lead and a little vermillion, 
so as to produce an orange shade. When this ground color is 
quite dry, you can grain with equal quantities of raw umber 
and raw terra sienna, ground together very fine in ale or 
beer; lay this on your ground-work and v.-ith a damp sponge 
proceed to mottle it, and then soften as before directed, and 
when diy put on the top grain with the same color, and when 
dry A'arnish as before directed. 

7o Imitate WalraU Wood. The ground color to imitate 
black walnut is made by mixing together Venetian red and 
lampblack, and a little yellow ochre, enough to give a yel- 
lowish tinge, and when 3^our work has received two or three 
coats of this color and it is quite dry, you can then proceed 
to graining; and your graining color is to be made by grind- 
ing burnt umber vevy fine in ale or beer, and then laid on 
with a clean paint brush, au.l before it dries you must take 
out the lights in imitation of the natural wood. This ^'ou 
can do by using clean water and a sponge ; you can squeeze 
out the water from your sponge, so as to have it just damp, 
and by laying it on your work and then drawing it down iu 
a sloping direction, you can imitate the natural grain; it 
must then be softened with the badger hair blender, and 
when dry use an over-grainer and put on the top grain with 
the same color, and when quite dry varnish. 
— & 



66 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

Another Black Walnut. Make your ground color of burnt 
umber, white lead and 3'ellow ochre, so as to get a yellowish 
brown shade 5 and the gi'aining color must be burnt umber 
and burnt terra sienna, ground fine in ale or beer, and laid 
on as before directed, and varnished when quite dry. 

To grain in Imitation of Birds-eye Maple. Mix your ground 
color with white lead, chrome yellow, and a little red lead, 
but very little red lead must be used, only just enough to 
tinge the yellow a little. When you have laid on your 
ground color and rubbed down smooth, you can then grain 
it with raw terra sienna, ground very fine in ale or beer ; 
take a large paint brush (one that is pretty well worn will 
be the best) and make it quite clean by v/ashing it out with 
benzine or turpentine, and then with soap and hot water; and 
when you have it Cjuite clean you can use it to lay on yo u* 
graining color. Before your graining color dries, j-ou can 
take a piece of stiff shoe leatlier, about five or six inches 
long and about two or three inches wide, and make it damp 
by dipping it into wate'r-, and with this you can take out the 
lights by laying the edge of it horizontally against your 
Avork and drawing it down iii the same manner as if 3'ou 
were combing oak, but checking ^-our hand every inch or so, 
and then drawing it down again and stopping, and by a little 
practice in this manner you can soon imitate the horizontal 
veins obsei'vable in the natural wood. You can mottle it in 
places, by using the damp sponge pressed against it, and 
then soften all before it dries, by brushing it lightly with the 
badger-hair blender. When this is dry 3'ou can use the over- 
grainer, and a little of the same color to jjut in the top grain. 
When all is quite dry, give it two or three coats of varnish. 

]S'. B. The imitation of birds-eye can be easily made hy 
dabbing it Avith the point of the finger while it is wet. 

Another imitation of Birds-eye Maple. Ma .e a light bufT 
color for the ground-work, by using white lead, chrome yel- 
low and yellow ochre, with a little raw umbe'-, and vrhen 
quite dry you can lay on the gi-aining color, which must be 
composed of ravf terra sienna and a little burnt ten>a 
sienna, both ground very fine in ale or beer and mixed to- 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 67 

gcther and laid on Avith a brush, and the lights are to be 
taken out, and the sponge used as directed before, and the 
birds-ej^e imitation to be made with the point of the finger, 
and when dry varnished as directed in the first imitation. 

Another imitation of Birds-eye Maple. A dark maple can 
be made by using for the ground color yellow ochre and raw 
umber, so as to make a dark buff color, and when dry grain 
Avith raw terra sienna and raw umber, ground very fine 
in ale or beer. Use your brush to spread the color evenly 
over the Avork, then make the imitation with the sponge, 
leather and over-grainer, as before directed, and AA^hen dry it 
can be varnished. 

To imitate Maple in Oil Colors. Make the ground AA^orkAvith 
chrome yelloAV^, AA'hite lead and a little vermillion, and Avhen 
it is quite dry and rubbed smooth you can mix the graining 
color by using burnt terra sienna and raw terra sienna, 
about equal quantities, ground in oil, and this must be thinned 
Avith turpentine and enough Japan driers or copal varnish to 
make it dry quick, and enough of what is called grainers' 
cream must be added to keep the grain from running together. 
This grainers' cream is made by molting beeswax in a tin or 
iron vessel, over the fire ; and when melted it must be taken 
a distance from the fire, and thinned with turpentine enough 
to make it of the consistence of thick molasses. When your 
graining color is prepared you can lay it on by using a stiff 
paint brush and rubbing it on thin. Then take out the lights 
with the sharp edge of a piece of sole leather, Avhich must be 
frequently Aviped to keep it clean. It can then be mottled a 
little by dabbing it Avith a piece of putty. It can then be 
softened by striking it very lightly with a dry brush. The 
top grain had better be put on when the Avork is quite dry, by 
using burnt umber ground in ale or beer, and la}^ it on with 
your over-grainer in a AA'avy manner, imitating, as near as you 
can, the natural wood. This Avill have to be varnished Avith 
two coats of copal or coach varnish. 

As the aboA-^e method of graining is the best for out-door 
Avork, and is very much practised, I will make the directions 
more easily understood and more plain by repeating them. 



68 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

In the first place the ground is — chrome yellow, white 
lead, a little vermillion — mixed in boiled oil. Second, the 
graining color is — raw sienna, burnl sienna, equal parts, 
ground in oil and varnish; grainers' cream, made with bees- 
wax and turpentine. 

To grain Mahogany in Oil. As the oil graining will stand 
the weather much better than the distemper graining, it is 
therefore more use! for outside graining. But it is more dif- 
ficult, an J require-! more practice to do a good job in oil than 
in distemper. But I will here describe the method of oil 
graining as practiced by the best grainers. 

The ground work is to be laid on in the same manner as if 
you were going to grain in distemper. Mix.it with white 
lead, red lead and chrome yellow, so as to have a light orange 
shade, and when this is quite dry and rubbed down smooth, 
the graining color can be made by grinding burnt sienna very 
fine in oil, using a little Japan to make it dry, and thinning 
it with turpentine, and putting in enough grainers' cream to 
keep it from running together. Go over the ground work 
with this ground color very thin ; then take a dab tool 
and wipe out the mottling; then soften it with the badger- 
brush, and lay on the over-grain with rose pink ground in 
turpentine and Japan ; and for the fine dark veins use van- 
dyke brown, made very thin with Japan and turpentine. 
When dry varnish with copal or coach varnish. 



PAPER HANGING, 

OR PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOR PAPERING ROO.MS. 

As the hanging of paper is generally considere i as belong- 
ing to the painter's business, most all painters have, more or 
less, experience in this kind of business, and this work would 
be inconaplete without an article upon this subject. I shall, 
therefore, proceed to give such plain practical instructions as 
will enable an}^ person to paper rooms without any difficulty. 



EVE&Y MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 60 

It is light work; and women can do this kind of woik equally 
as well, and somotinies better, than men, as neatness is par- 
ticularly requisite in doing a gooa job of paper hanging. 

In the first place, I would recommend, to a person who has 
had no experience in the business, to choose such a pattern of 
paper as will be easy to match, or in fact such a pattern as 
will not require to be matched, and they will find it much 
easier to hang, as it is dirHcult for a new beginner to get the 
figures of a matched pattern to their proper place. The first 
operation in hanging paper, is to trim it ; that is, to cut off 
with a pair of shears one of the edges of the paper, cutting 
close up to the pattern ; and this can be done in the following 
manner: by sitting on a chair and taking one end of the paper 
on your lap, holding it in your left hand and letting it un- 
roll on the floor. You can trim with your right hand, rolling 
it up again at the same time with your left hand. 

Wall paper is put up in what is called bolls, or rolls, and 
these rolls are generally about eight yards long, and about 
eighteen to twenty inches in w^idth. Before proceeding to 
put on the paper, the walls will have to be dusted off clean, 
and if they have been whitewashed all the white wash will 
have to be brushed off with a stiff broom as clean as possible, 
for if this is not done your paper will peel off as soon as it 
gets dry, bringing the whitewash, in flakes, with it, and all 
your labor will be lost. It is a very good plan to wash your 
walls over with vinegar and v.-uter after brushing off the 
whitewash. If the vinegar is. very strong you can dilute it j 
two parts water and one pnrt vinegar will answer, and v%-hen 
this is dry you must mix a little glue and Avaier, using about 
one-fourth of a pound of glue to a pail full of water, and take 
a whitewash brush, and go round the doors and Avindows, and 
the top of the base-board, and in the corners, and up next to 
the ceiling, and every place where the paper is likely to get 
loose. I will here say that it is not necessary to take this 
trouble with walls that have not been v/hitewashed, as the 
paper will slick on, clean walls without any preparation. The 
next thing to be done is to make the paste, and this you can 
do by using common wdieat flour, and if the flour is musty it 



70 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER, 

will not hurt it for paste^ but you must be careful to have as 
few lumps in your paste as possible. You can have the 
water boiling hot; then take the flour and mix it in cold 
water until you have made a thin batter of it, and when you 
have stirred it sufficiently, so that it is fi-ee from lumps, you 
can pour it into the boiling water, stirring it well at the same 
time. 'No\Y you will have to observe this hint with regard to 
the thickness of your paste; and that is, that if the paper that 
joii are going to put on is thin common papei', then your paste 
must be made as thick as you can conveniently use it, and 
if the paper is a good quality of thick strong paper, then you 
must make the paste thin; and the reason of this is, that thin 
paste will quickly penetrate common paper, and make it so 
rotten that you cannot handle it. Some persons think that 
they must use glue or alum in paste, but it is not necessary, 
as the paper will adhere to the wall just as well without it. 
This I know from experience. If the walls have been papered 
before, you can tear off all the old paper that you can, that is, 
all that will come off easy, and paper over what is left. You 
must have a board about two and a-half feet wide, and about 
ten or twelve feet long to lay your paper on when you 
paste it, and you must also have a medium sized whitewash 
brush to lay the paste on with, and you w'ill require a pair of 
very sharp shears, as dull shears will not cut paper when it is 
wet. You can measure the length of the paper required from 
the ceiling to the top of the base-board — you need not have it 
run quite up to the ceiling, as your border Avill cover an inch 
and a-half, or perhaps, if it is wide, it will cover three 
inches — then take a roll of paper, and measure how many 
whole lengths it will take round the room, and cut the num- 
ber required, and in cutting them, if you observe the pattern 
you can generally cut them straight by that. When you have 
all the whole lengths cut, they must be laid down, one on the 
top of the other, upon the board, and commence and paste one 
strip at a time, putting it on the wall as quickl}^ as possible, 
before the paste soaks into it too much. It is ^best for a 
learner to begin behind a door, or in some place not much 
noticed; by doing this, if you do not get the tirst or second 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 71 

piece on very neatly, it will not be of much consequence. If 
the strip is too long for you to handle conveniently, j^ou can 
turn it up at the bottom before you take it from the board. 
Turn it up about two feet or so, letting the tAvo pasted sides 
come together, and when you have your strip perpendicular, 
you can stick it fast at the top, and then pull it down at the 
bottom where you turned it up, and you can use a cloth to rub 
it on, or what is perhaps better, a hair broom, or dust broom, 
and you must commence at the top, brushing it dowji the 
middle, and then outwards on both sides. If it comes over 
the base-board, you can pull it away, and with your shears 
trim it so that it will fit neatly to the top of the base-board. 
In putting on the strips, if you should have one that does not 
hang perpendicular, 3'ou can pull it from the wall so that it 
onl}' hangs by a few inches at the top, and then you can get it 
right and rub it on again. In a short time after you have 
rubbed it on, it Avill appear full of blisters, but these will dis- 
appear as it gets dry. In turning a corner it is better to cut 
a strip of paper in two, lengthwise, and then fit it in, as it is 
difficult for a beginner to bend a.wbole strip into a corner so 
as to make it lie smooth. After all the whole strips have been 
put on, then the pieces can be put in over the doors and win- 
dows, and when this is done, then the border can be cut into 
convenient lengths and put on, but in joining the border, see 
that the pattern matches. 

A COLLECTIO?^ OF VALUABLE EECIPES AND HINTS AP- 
PLICABLE TO PAINTING. 

To make Tutty. The putty used by painters to glaze sash, 
is composed of whiting (or, as it is sometinies called, Spanish 
white,) mixed with raw linseed oil. Sometimes painters put 
in a little w^hite lead, but this is not necessary. 

1\. B. If the sash is not painted where the puttj- comes in 
contact Avith it, you will find that v/hen the putty gets dry, it 
will get loose and fall out. One coat of paint will prevent 
this, and cause the putty to adhere. 

Hints on Burning Colors. There are several colors in com- 
mon use amongst painters, which can be changed from one 



72 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

color to another by burning, and amongst the most common, 
I will mention terra sienna, which, in its raw state, is a 
yellow color, but by putting it into an iron shovel or ladle, 
and heating it in a clear fire, it is changed to a beautiful reddish 
brown color. In the same way, umber can be changed to a 
deep brown by being burnt. Sulphate of zinc, or, as it is 
sometimes called, white vitriol, is but a poor drier, but after 
it is burnt, and the water of crystallization driven off, it be- 
come^ a very powerful drier; but this will have to be burnt in 
a glazed earthen vessel, for it will adhere to iron, or anything 
that is rough, so that it will be very difficult to separate it. 

How to use Old Paint that has been standing a long time. If 
you have any paint that has been standing mixed a long time, 
you will find that it has become what painters call "fatty," 
and you will find, also, that it will be difficult to use it with- 
out its running; and about the only way that you can use it, 
will be by mixing a little fresh paint with it, and then thinning 
it with benzine or turpentine, not using any more oil, and if 
3'ou have any first coating or priming to do, it is best to make 
use of it for that purpose. 

To make a brilliant Black Varnish for Leather and other pur- 
poses. Take a stone-ware vessel, sufficiently large for the 
purpose, and put into it eight ounces of shellac powdered fine 
in a mortar, and one and a half ounces of lampblack; then 
pour onto it two and a half pounds of alcohol, and cover it to 
keep out the dust, and let it stand in a moderately warm 
place, and shake it frequently, for about one day, at the end 
of which time the shellac will be dissolve 1. You nrast then 
add to it one and a half ounces of turjientine and let it stand 
for about one day longer, when it will bo fit to use. 

To make a Varnish for Pictures and AJapa, ivhich is 
very brilliant, ami is not injured, with water. By dissolving 
Venice turpentine in alcohol untd it is about as thick as milk, 
you can make a vai'iiish that is \Qvy suitable for varnishing 
maps, pictures, &c. It is necessary to size your pictures and 
maps before varnishing, with a little isi .glass, or a little gum 
arable in water. 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAIN'TER, 73 

TO BRONZE AND GILD CHAIRS. 

Chairs that are intended to bo bronzed or gilded should 
first receive all the paint that you intend to put on them, and 
then they must be varnished, and before the coat of varnish 
is quite dry, (that is, while it is a little tacky when touched 
with the finger,) they must receive the bronze, and this bronz- 
ing is to be done in the following manner: Have the pattern 
you wish to lay on cut out of a piece of thin card-board, or 
else out of thin sheet brads or copper, and lay ^-our pattern 
on the place where you wish to make the figure, and with a 
dry brush dipped in the bronze or gold powder, rub over the 
pattern, and wherever the pov,'der touches the tacky surface 
of the varnish, there it will adhere. The chairs can be var- 
nished over again and they are then finished. 

TO PAINT COMMON CHAIRS. 

Common chairs are frequently painted in the following 
manner: Take Venetian red and make a size color, by mix- 
ing it with a little glue in water, and paint your chairs with 
this, and when quite dry take some lampblack, mixed in glue 
water, and with a fiat brush, out of which some of the hairs 
have been cut, you can streak over the red ground of the 
chair with the iilack, so as to imitate the grain of rosewood. 
When this is dry, you must give two coats of varnish ; and 
it will improve the appearance of your work if you will 
stain this last coat of varnish, b}^ putting into it a little rose 
pink. 

N. B. The flat brush with which you make the streaks 
must have the hairs cut out irregularly, so that it will make 
broad and narrow veins as seen in the natural rosewood. 

Another very cheap and ea^y way of Fainting new Chairs. 
This method of painting chairs is only applicable to new 
chairs, as the size color used would not adhere sufficiently to 
old ones. Lay on a size color, made as before directed, by 
mixing any color in glue water, and when this is quite dry, 
varnish over with any kind of common varnish. 



74 JSVERt MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

Another method of Painting Chairs. Proceed as directed in 
the last article and lay on the size color, and when this is dry 
take some diiferent color ground up in size also, and lay that 
on 80 as to resemble the veins in wood ; then when dry, var- 
nish all over one or two coats. 

To Paint any kind of Purnitiire. All kinds of furniture can 
be painted as directed for chair painting in the foregoing- 
articles, but the more coats of varnish you give them, the 
better your work will last. 

To Paint Fine Chairs. Fine chairs must be painted on 
good body colors, about two or three coats, and then rubbed 
down smooth and grained, so as to imitate some kind of wood. 
"Very plain directions will be found in another part of this 
book to do all kinds of graining. 

TO TRAjSTSFER pictures to "WOOD, &c. 

The folloAving is an easy method of transferring any en- 
graving or lithograph, or any kind of a picture, to wood. 
The first operation to be performed is to paint the wood any 
light color, and it should receive two or three coats and be 
rubbed down smooth, and then one coat of light colored var- 
nish must be laid on, and when this is nearly dry, that is, so 
as to feel a little tacky when touched with the finger, then 
you must lay on the picture (to be transferred) with its face 
down, and press it hard, so that it may adhere smoothly and 
firmly to the tacky surface of your work ; then let it get per- 
fectly drj^ Now, a person might suppose that they would 
never see the picture again, as the face of it is firmly stuck 
to the varnished surface; but, in order to bring it .to light 
you must proceed in the following manner: Take a wet 
sponge or a wet cloth and moisten the back of your picture, 
and rub it with your finger, and the paper can be rubbed oft' 
in this manner in little rolls. You must proceed in this man- 
ner, moistening and rubbing the paper^ until you have rubbed 
it all o'ff, and 3-our picture begins to appear, but 3-ou inu-^t be 
very careful towards the last, or you w^ill rub off some part 
of the picture; and when you have rubbed off all the paper 
you can get off, without injuring the picture, you must then 



EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 75 

let it get quite diy, and when it is dry you must then dust off 
all the little specks of paper that may still adhere to it. 
Your picture will now present rather a dim appearance, but 
in order to bring it out you must go over with a coat of clear 
varnish, and this will bring it to light as bright as ever, and 
it will now have the appearance of having been engraved on 
the wood ; or if it is a colored picture, it will appear as if it 
had been painted there, as no part of the paper on which 
the picture w^as originally engraved can be seen. The above 
is a beautiful and an easy method of ornamenting ladies' 
work-boxes, tops of stand-tables, &c., &c. 

In order to make the instructions more plain, I will repeat 
them in a condensed form. 

1st. Paint the work two coats of a light color. 

2d. Varnish one coat of clean varnish. 

3d. Lay jonv picture, face down, on the varnish, before 
it is quite dry. 

4th. When quite dry proceed to rub the paper off the 
the back of the picture by moistening it and rubbing with 
the finger. 

5th. When the picture is quite drj-, dust it off and varnish 
it and it will appear. 

To transfer a Pattern of any kind to be painted on ivork. The 
following is a method very commonly practiced by painters 
of transferring patterns that they may wish to paint on their 
work. Take the pattern drawn on paper, and with a pin 
stick holes in the lines of the pattern — the holes must be 
pretty close together ; and when this is done you can take a 
little rose pink in powder, and tie it up in a piece of coarse 
cloth, and lay your pattern flat down on 3'our w^ork. Dust 
it over with the rose pink, by dabbing it on to the pattern, 
and this will cause the rose pink to penetrate through the 
holes in your pattern, and when it is taken off, the outlines 
of your pattern will be left on your work. 

Other methods of Copying Patterns. There are several other 
methods used by painters to copy patterns; one very easy 
method is the following: Take a piece of white paper and 
smear one side of it wdth a composition, made by mixing 



76 EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE PAINTER. 

lampblack with a piece of soap, so as to make a black paste 
of it, and when you have smeared your paper with this com- 
position, you can wipe it ofP, so that it will not soil an3"thing, 
and there will still be sufficient left on to answer the purpose j 
you then take this piece of black paper and lay the black 
side down on a piece of white paper, and on the top of that 
lay your picture or pattern, that you wish to copy, with its 
face up, and you will have them arranged thus : first, the 
white paper laid flat on the table; second, the black paper 
laid on that; third, the picture or pattern laid on the top, and 
when thus arranged you can take a knitting needle, and with 
the point trace the lines, pressing pretty hard, and you will 
find that every line will be distinctly made on the white 
paper. Then, if 3'ou wish, you can stick holes with a pin in 
the pattern that you have thus obtained, and transfer it as 
directed in tl^e last article. 

Another method of Copying Tatterns. Patterns can also be 
copied by using transparent tracing-paper, and this can be 
made by varnishing the paper over with boiled oil and let- 
ting it dry, or it can be made by using an}^ kind of varnish 
that will render it transparent; and this paper can be laid on 
the pattern, and every line can be distinctly seen, so that it 
can be accurately traced with a lead pencil. 

TO CRYc^TALLIZE TIN. 

Tin, when crystallized, can be used by painters for a variety 
of purposes, and is very ornamental. It can be made by ^ 
taking a sheet of tin and rubbing it over with whiting, to 
remove any grease that may be on it, and when quite clean 
warm it, or lay it on something hot; then take a sponge *or 
brush, go over it with spirits of salt, and it will soon become 
crystallized ; then wash it off Avith clean water, and v\'hen it 
is dry it can be varnished Avith copal varnish, and any trans- 
parent color can be used in tbc varnish, such as Prussian 
blue, raw sienna, or burnt sienna, and any of these colors will 
give it a beautiful appearance. It the varnish is stained 
with red lake, it will make the crystal look very pretty. 



INDEX 



PAGE. 

Brick house — to paint a store color 25 

Black paint — to make a good 17 

Bronze — to imitate IG 

Brushes — use and care of. 21 

Butf colors of different shades 10 

Blue paint of any shade required 14 

Brown paint for barns, out-houses, &c 32 

Buff paint made with coal oil 55 

Brashes — what kind to use 6 

\ 

Common chairs — to paint 73 

Chesip color for plows, &c 17 

China white, a beautiful glossy white 21 

Cheap paints, and substitutes for white lead 31 

Cheap brown paint 32 

Cheap paint — another 32 

Cheap milk paint 39 

Cheap siib-titute for oil in house painting 40 

Cement for stopping leaks in roofs and round chimneys 42 

Cheap varnish for stained wood 54 

Cheap paints with coal oil 54 

Cheap red paint with coal oil 54 

Cheap gi'ay paint with coal oil 54 

Cheap paints — valuable recipes for making 36 

Chairs, fine — to paint 74 

Cheap and easy way of painting chairs 73 

Coal Oil Paixts — 

Buff 55 

Yellow 55 

Drab 55 

Brown 55 

White '. 55 

Chairs — to bronze and gild 73 

Chairs — to grain in imitation of rosewood 64 

Carriages— a beautiful color for 15 

Colors — method of mixing 9 

Combs — to make for oak graining 56 

Chairs — a good black stain for 52 

Directions for mixing different colors 9 

Directions for painting the inside of a house 19 

Directions how to paint wagons, plows, &c 25 



11 INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Distemper or Size Colors — 

Straw color 34 

Several shades of drab 34 

A good blue 35 

A good green 35 

Other greens , 35 

Gray color, any shade 35 

Flesh color 35 

Purple — to make a 85 

A very good yellow 36 

A good orange '. 36 

To laj' on these colors in size 36 

Economical house paint 40 

Excellent cement for stopping leaks in hog troughs and water troughs... 42 

Furniture, of any kind — to paint 74 

Furniture, new — to varnish 50 

Furniture — to polish with wax 50 

Furniture — to take out ink spots, &c 51 

Furniture — to make paste to polish 51 

Floors — a good yellow for 16 

Furniture — to varnish 49 

Fre3stone color — to make 17 

Fawn color — to make 17 

General valuable recipes for making cheap paints 36 

Good bright blue color for walls 41 

Graining in imitation of diflerent kinds of wood 55 

Graining color for oak — simple and easy method of making CO 

Greens — other dark 13 

Graining color for oak 56 

Graining cream — to make a good 58 

Hard drying paint for counter tops, chairs, &c 16 

House painting — directions for inside 19 

House paint — economical 40 

Houses, weather-beaten — to paint 8 

Houses, brick— to paint 24 

Instructions how to kill the knots in work 12 

Methods of copying patterns 75 

Mixing the paint 7 

Magnesia green 13 

Mahogany — to grain in imitation of 61 

Mahogany — to prepare the ground for 61 

Mahogany — to make a light 62 

Mahogany — a rich looking 62 



INDEX. iii 

PAGE. 

Maple, birds-eye — to imitate GG 

Maple — to imitate in oil colors 07 

Maple, birds-eye— another imitation of. 07 

Oil, linseed — toboi' 18 

Oil paiiit — a good substitute for 3B 

Oil — substitutes for in painting 39 

Oak graining 5o 

Old inside work — to paint 29 

Oil, to bleach 47 

Oak graining — to prepare ground for 5i\ 

Oak — to grain in distemper 58 

Painting chairs— another method of. 74- 

Plows and other implements — to paint 27 

Plain directions for house painting 4 

Paints to be used on wagons 27 

Paints — to make dry "> 

Painting buggies and carriages — method of. 28 

Paint — the best v/ay to clean 23 

Paper hanging, or plain directions for papering rooms 68 

Patterns — other methods of copying 75 

Rosewood — to imitate ;;;] 

Rosewood — another imitation of. (;;5 

Rosewood — to grain chairs in imitation of. 04 

Rosewood — to grain in size 04 

Red paint — to mix 14 

Substitutes for white lead 31 

Size colors .1;] 

Size — how to prepare ;!.3 

Size colors — how to lay on ;;t3 

Substitute for oil paint 36 

Satin wood — to imitate 64 

Stone color — to make a 15 

Satin wood — another 05 

TiiK Method of Mixing Colors 

To make a lead color 10 

To make a purple or lilac color 10 

To make a flesh color 10 

To make drabs of ditferent shades 10 

To make Pt straw color 10 

To make a cheap yellow color j ] 

To make an orange color 11 

To mix and use the greens 11 

To mix a good green for window shutters 12 



iv INDEX. 

PAGE. 

To make fi good dark green for carriages 13 

To make a walnut color 15 

To make a gray color 16 

To make a salmon color 16 

To make a purple color 16 

Tar paints for rough wood work 41 

Tar paint — uses of. 42 

To mix paint for frosting glass 17 

To imitate ground glass 17 

To make a light lead color 22 

To make a beautiful finishing shade 22 

To transfer pictures to wood, &c 74 

To transfer a pattern of any kind to be paiiited on work 75 

Tin — to crystallize 76 

Yakxishes — 

Oil 43 

Water-proof 44 

Resin 44 

For tracing paper 44 

Copal '. 44 

Colorless copal 45 

For maps and pictures 46 

Gum elastic 46 

Shellac for covering knots in wood 47 

Black for grates and iron 47 

Black Japan 47 

Copal with alcohol 43 

Valuablk Eecipes and Hints Applicable to Painting — 

To make putty 71 

Hints on burning colors 71 

How to use old paint that has been standing a long time 72 

To make a brilliant black varnish for leather, &c 72 

To make a varnish for pictures and maps, which is very brilliant 72 

"Wagon, old — to paint 26 

Wagon — the amount of paint required for 27 

Water-proof and lire-proof paint 41 

Wood — to stain ditt'erent colors 51 

Walnut color — to stain, 52 

Wood — to stain oak color 52 

Wood — to stain in imitation of mahogany 62 

Wood — to stain in imitation of rosewood 52 

Wood — to stain yellow 53 

Wood — a dark stain for 53 

Wagons, plows, &c. — directions to paint 25 

White zinc for inside work 20 

Walls — good bright blue color for 41 

Walnut wood — to imitate 65 

Walnut — another black 66 



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